Christine S. Vertefeuille
Christine S. Vertefeuille (born December 10, 1950) is a Senior Associate Justice on the Connecticut Supreme Court. She is a Connecticut native, born in New Britain, Connecticut. She graduated from Trinity College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1972 and the University of Connecticut School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1975.
Vertefeuille (pronounced Ver-te-fay) began her career as a judge with her 1989 appointment to the Superior Court. During her tenure as a Superior Court Judge, she presided over the Connecticut silicone gel breast implant cases (1993–99). In addition, Vertefeuille served as the Administrative Judge in the Waterbury Judicial District (1994–99) and as a Complex Litigation Judge (1999).
Vertefeuille was appointed a Judge of the Appellate Court on September 13, 1999. On January 3, 2000, Vertefeuille was appointed a Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, succeeding Justice Robert I. Berdon, who retired by law. She served as the Administrative Judge of the Appellate System from June 1, 2000 to July 31, 2006. In 2010, Justice Vertefeuille announced her decision to retire and assume Senior Status. Governor M. Jodi Rell appointed Superior Court Judge Dennis Eveleigh to succeed her.
On October 10, 2008, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health that gay and lesbian couples could not be denied the right to marry because of the Equal Protection Clause of the state constitution. This decision made Connecticut the third state (along with Massachusetts and California) to legalize same-sex marriage through judicial decree of the state supreme court. The majority opinion was written by Justice Richard N. Palmer, and joined by Justices Flemming L. Norcott, Jr., Joette Katz, and Judge Lubbie Harper, Jr. Justices Peter T. Zarella, Vertefeuille, and David Borden dissented.
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