Administrator of CT Judicial Branch to step aside; judge with more than 20 years on bench to take over
Judge Patrick Carroll, the influential chief administrator who has run the state judiciary for nearly two decades, has announced he is stepping aside — at least partially — and will be replaced by his deputy, Judge Elizabeth Bozzuto.
In a brief note to fellow judges and staff, Carroll disclosed the change, but said he has no immediate plan to leave office entirely.
“As for my future plans, thankfully, at least thankfully for me, I’m not going anywhere,” Carroll wrote. “As long as the Chief Justice and Judge Bozzuto can tolerate me, I will continue to work here in the Office of the Chief Court Administrator, on a somewhat reduced schedule, as a Senior Judge. I look forward to continuing my work with all of you!”
Chief Justice Richard Robinson, the nominal head of the Judicial Branch, said Carroll will assume senior, or semi-retired status effective at the end of the year. He said Bozzuto, who has been Carroll’s deputy for four years, will replace him. Superior Court Judge Anna Ficeto, administrative judge in the Waterbury judicial district, will replace Bozzuto as deputy chief court administrator.
The chief justice of the state Supreme Court runs the state judicial branch. But under Robinson and former Chief Justice Chase Rogers, Carroll was given wide authority to make decisions about the branch’s direction and future, and did so with in a style that involved little consultation with fellow judges.
As incoming chief court administrator, Bozzuto will inherit responsibility for aspects of court operations as diverse as union contracts and judicial assignments.
One of the issues she will face are the shortcomings in the branch’s information technology capability that became apparent during the pandemic. Court operations largely shut down during the pandemic and the branch struggled to find the technology not only to run remote court proceedings, but to enable employees to work at home.
In the criminal side of court operations, record keeping has yet to be digitized
In a statement announcing Buzzuto’s appointment, Robinson said Bozzuto was responsible for “the Branch’s operational response to the challenges presented by the pandemic.”
“Through it all, Judge Bozzuto assured that meaningful access to justice would be maintained despite the unprecedented challenges we were facing,” Robinson said. “In meeting these challenges, Judge Bozzuto’s creativity, dedication and willingness to embrace new and emerging technology to increase efficiency and accountability were apparent.”
Carroll, who is believed to have agreed to only one press interview while chief administrator, announced his semi-retirement in a written statement that commended the branch’s pandemic response.
“Throughout the challenges of the pandemic, I have been inspired by your courage, creativity and commitment to make certain that we continued to discharge our constitutional obligations and assure meaningful access to justice despite the unprecedented challenges we were all facing,” he said. “My memory of how we all pulled together to get the job done during the pandemic will always be among my proudest memories of my time in the Chief Court Administrator’s office.”
Bozzuto was appointed a Superior Court judge in 2000. Before becoming deputy chief court administrator in 2018, she was assigned, among other things, as chief administrative judge of family matters for five years, assistant administrative judge for the Waterbury Judicial District; presiding judge for family matters in the Waterbury Judicial District; presiding judge of the Regional Family Trial Docket in Waterbury; presiding judge of the family division in Danbury; and as the assistant administrative judge in the Litchfield Judicial District. She was first appointed to the bench in 2000.
Carroll was appointed to the Superior Court in 1996 and said he has been either chief of deputy chief court administrator for 16 years.
