CT Probate Courts are Honorable and Accountable

(Dean Rohrer illustration)

•Editorial by Paul J. Knierim, probate court administrator and judge of the Simsbury probate court

Connecticut's probate courts have recently been the object of sharply critical commentary, which unfairly characterizes the probate system and places its judges in a negative light. It is vitally important that the public know that our state's probate courts operate under well-defined rules that safeguard the rights of individuals and ensure that probate cases are decided in a fair and objective manner.

Probate judges are governed by a strict set of ethics rules, known as the Code of Probate Judicial Conduct. The ethics code, which is similar to the rules that apply to Superior Court judges, requires that probate judges disqualify themselves from any case in which their impartiality is in question. It also requires that judges avoid activities outside of their courts that could cause a conflict of interest with their judicial responsibilities. The code of ethics is a public document on our website (jud.ct.gov/probate).

Judges, like anyone else, can make errors. That's why there is a guaranteed right to appeal any probate decision to the Superior Court. A person who disagrees with a probate judge's decision can have another judge — from a different court — review the case. Notably, very few probate matters are appealed. In 2009, only 85 appeals were filed on probate decisions, a small fraction of the nearly 80,000 matters handled by probate judges that year.

Of course, in any organization, there may be people who don't follow the rules. If that happens in the probate courts, we have a system to discipline any judge who violates the ethics code. Complaints about the conduct of a judge may be filed with the Council on Probate Judicial Conduct. Headed by a Superior Court judge, this five-member body follows procedures that parallel the Judicial Review Council, which oversees Superior Court judges.

The Council on Probate Judicial Conduct investigates every complaint it receives. It can publicly admonish or censure a judge. It can even recommend that the General Assembly impeach the judge.

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Connecticut Probate Courts are Honorable and Accountable