““Let me be clear: no man is above the law in this country. We believe in equal rights and equal justice for everybody, and we will not let those values be eroded. We are not going backwards in this country, and goddammit, we are not going backwards in the State of Connecticut. We’re going to stand up and fight. As Bob Marley used to say: ‘Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights now! Don’t give up the fight!’ Thank you to each and every one of you for standing up for Connecticut and for our democracy. THERE ARE NO KINGS IN AMERICA,” Greenwich billionaire / Governor / King of Connecticut Ned Lamont

Connecticut is one of the most racially segregated States in the country in the areas of housing, education and income, according to a 2024 report prepared by the State of Connecticut. The King of CT has been in power for the last 8 years and is looking to be reelected next year. The King of CT has done little to change the fact that CT is a Tale of Two Gated Segregated Communities, Greenwich & Bridgeport. The King of CT is looking to guard the gated communities for another four years.

Lamont nominated 14 lawyers as Judges. Most of these lawyers work for the State of Connecticut as insiders at in various departments, many at the Attorney General’s Office. Corporate men and women. So much for Judicial independence. What ever happened to the separation of powers? A Democratic controlled Legislature, ruled by a Democrat Governor, who appoints Democrat company men to the Judiciary.

The Hartford Courant recently published an article about two lawyers whom King Lamont is looking to get appointed to the Judiciary, see below, one of whom is John Shaban, a former State representative of the Republican party. Why would the “Democratic” King of CT appoint a Republican to a $200K cushy job in the Judiciary. Sounds like a payback to me. What did the King get in exchange? Shaban was questioned about his own brush with the law when he got arrested for getting into an altercation with his girlfriend where his girlfriend alleged that she had been pushed to the ground and one of her hands was bleeding. Shaban claimed that his girlfriend was the aggressor and had punched him. Shaban was arrested and issued a restraining order. The charges were eventually dropped.

Shaban argued that his experience as a criminal defendant made him more qualified to be a Judge: “I had a brief glimpse at a lot of people, who were good people, who got caught in a bad situation,” he said. “To  actually be able to see that, gave me a sense of empathy and sympathy I think will  help me in this role if confirmed.” If that were the case the King of CT should open up the jail cells and appoint more criminals to the Bench. Instead, he appointed career conformist government employees to the bench.

Lamont also appointed one of his political hacks, Jeffrey Beckham, a budget director for the King, who has little to no experience practicing law. Beckham argued before the legislature, “I understand that as a judge I will have a mentor judge and an experienced clerk staff for support and assistance. I will not hesitate to lean on them until I am proficient in the matters coming before me.” Beckham basically admitted something that has been a well kept secret in the CT Judiciary, ie., the civil servant attorney law clerks, and have far more years of experience as the Judges, do most of the grunt work and are very influential on the decision making process of rookie Judges. A seasoned law clerk, with a lot of power within the Judiciary, could theoretically convince a Judge to write a bad decision and basically throw the Judge under the bus. Or the clerk, who runs the day to day operations of the courthouse, could easily run the Judge’s courthouse into the ground. The Judge has to be nice to the Clerks or suffer the consequences. When I practiced law I remember hearing a Judge complain that at his prior job as a partner at a big law firm he had a huge support staff, unlike the CT Judiciary, where he had a skeletal staff and had to type his own decisions.

Is there a “Deep State” in CT that runs the Judiciary? There definitely is pressure to be a conformist in the Judiciary. If you go against the clerks, the system, the group think, or the administrative law judges in Waterbury, you will end up in purgatory sitting in the juvenile or family courts. Unpopular opinions in the Judicial bee hive will cause you to be expelled from the bee hive. You will still get to collect your kingly salary of $200K a year for a nine to five job with little pressure, as the clerks do much of the work, but you won’t impress anyone at the Judicial conferences.

By Edmund H. Mahony | emahony@courant.com | Hartford Courant

PUBLISHED: April 3, 2026 at 6:01 PM EDT | UPDATED: April 3, 2026 at 8:26 PM EDT

The prospects of two of Gov. Ned Lamont’s politically-connected nominees for Superior Court  judgeships appear grim after the pair got a chilly reception and tough questions about their backgrounds during a confirmation hearing before the legislature’s judiciary committee.

John Shaban, a former three-term Republican state representative from Redding, was interrogated about the recent administrative suspension of his law license in New York and, before that, his being charged with disorderly conduct after an argument with his girlfriend.

Shaban eventually acknowledged that he and his now fiancé were allowed to participate in a diversionary program and, after counseling, the charges against them were dismissed.

The committee members closely questioned Lamont’s former budget director, Jeffrey Beckham about his lack of legal experience. Beckham told them he hasn’t practiced law since 1990 and before that, he had very little experience.

“I am going to just get into the question that is in front of everybody,” said Sen. Gary Winfield, committee co-chair and a New Haven Democrat. “No need to play around. This committee is often engaged in asking folks with little or no experience in the courtroom about what makes them someone that we should endeavour to continue forward.”

Beckham, whose title was Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, replied, “I think your question assumes that you know that I don’t have a lot of courtroom experience.”

“I haven’t tried cases,” he said. “I have not been a practitioner in private practice, not to any extent and not recently. And I am fully conscious that I have a lot of homework to do. There will be a learning curve for me.

“It’s the skill set that I think commends me,” he said. “Not the direct, substantive experience.”

Shaban and Beckham were among 14 nominees for judgeships that Lamont sent to the legislature. The others competed the process relatively unscathed, but there were questions immediately following the hearing Thursday about whether Shaban and Beckham would survive the process.

The Judiciary Committee postponed a vote on the nominees until next week. There were conflicting reports about whether Lamont would withdraw one or both of the contested nominations. A spokesman for the governor did not respond to an inquiry.

The disorderly conduct charge brought against Shaban by the Redding police was reported in 2020 in a blog by Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie

“Republican former state Representative John Shaban, seeking to return to the state legislature this fall, was arrested October 19th last year and charged with disorderly conduct at his Redding home. Shaban’s longtime girlfriend was charged with the same misdemeanor in the domestic incident.” Rennie reported..

State Rep. Jason Doucette, a Manchester Democrat raised the subject.

“Congratulations on your nomination and welcome back to the (Legislative Office Building),” Doucette said. “I came across an article and I wanted to give you a chance to comment on it.”

Shaban, 61, said the report was “substantially correct.”

“My then girlfriend, now fiancée, we had an argument,” he said, “We got separated, purposefully. She thought I was threatening her. She called the local PD saying, ‘My boyfriend took the keys and is not letting me in the house.’  … By the time the locals came in, they came in, gave each of us a ticket, drove her home as a courtesy to both of us. And then we just let it play out from there.”

Shaban said he he believes the incident will provide him insight into the sorts of issues that confront judges.

“And while we are on the topic, while that experiences was unfortunate, it provided me with a unique opportunity that I think is important for this role that I am trying to acquire now,” he said. “Rarely do you get to see the effect of some of the programs and legislation that we pass in this building and the building across the street.

“I had a brief glimpse at a lot of people, who were good people, who got caught in a bad situation,” he said. “To  actually be able to see that, gave me a sense of empathy and sympathy I think will  help me in this role if confirmed.”

Shaban dismissed the New York suspension as a relatively minor, administrative oversight. He said he missed a deadline for a licensing filing and learned of the suspension sometime after it was effective. He said a grievance committee later opposed his reinstatement unless he was publicly admonished.

Beckham, 62, has held an array of state government positions since 1990 and was Lamont’s budget director until he was replaced last summer. He anticipated being confronted over his lack of legal experience.

“At every stage I was fortunate to have colleagues and mentors willing to help me,” he said in his opening statement. “I’ve never been bashful about asking for help or advice and I think that played a big role in helping me succeed in those jobs.”

“I understand that as a judge I will have a mentor judge and an experienced clerk staff for support and assistance,” he said, “I will not hesitate to lean on them until I am proficient in the matters coming before me.”

Beckham said he began the process required to become a judge in 2010 when he made an application to the Judicial Selection Commission, a state agency that screens prospective judicial nominees. Governors draw nominees from those approved by the commission.

Rep. Craig Fishbein, the ranking Republican from Wallingford, asked Beckham about his “knowledge of criminal law in our courts.”

“Minimal,” Beckham said. “Back in the day I was a temporary assistant clerk, a long time ago, admittedly. I do recall some trials. Marking evidence and recording orders of the court. Those were fascinating, watching the lawyers eliciting evidence from the witnesses.”

“My concern,” Fishbein said, “is that every single case that comes before a judge in our courts impacts someone’s life. There is no, you know, ‘I’ll get my training wheels out. I’ll figure it out in six months.’ Because that very first case is impacting someone’s life.”

“In a family case, a temporary order on custody or visitation is a very important thing … It is an unappealable event. We can’t just throw people on the bench and say, ‘Figure it out. Maybe you will impact somebody’s life, maybe you won’t.’ I’m not willing to take that risk.”

“I’m really wrestling with: Is it a benefit to the citizens of the state of Connecticut to approve of your nomination or is it a benefit to you as an individual?” Fishbein said. “Can you unpack that?”

“I bring a set of experiences and skills developed over almost 36 years of service to the state,” Beckham replied. “In both the legislative and executive branches and on multiple occasions have stepped up and handled difficult matters that I have been asked to do, including becoming secretary on fairly short notice. So I have an array of skills and experiences and I am committed to deploying those to help the [branch} do its work.”