Quinnipiac law professor confronted at Senate confirmation hearing with letter urging Governor Lamont to empty state’s jails and prisons at start of pandemic. Russell failed to give letter to committee.

Quinnipiac law school professor Sarah French Russell failed to provide the Senate Judiciary Committee with a March 2020 letter calling on Governor Ned Lamont to empty the state’s jails and prisons as the global pandemic approached Connecticut.

Russell was nominated last month for a seat on the federal bench in the District of Connecticut. Senator John Kennedy (R-Louisiana) asked Russell about the substance of the letter and why she failed to include it in documents submitted to the committee as part of the confirmation process. Russell appears as the 669th signatory on the letter that excoriates Connecticut’s criminal justice system.

Russell was not much help in answering Kennedy’s questions. She said she did not recall the letter. A letter from Russell to the committee explaining her demands of Governor Lamont seems inevitable. Republicans seem likely to highlight the contents of the letter and Russell’s failure to provide it. The video had nearly 850,000 views by Sunday evening, November 5th.

Senator Ted Cruz (D-Texas) also questioned Russell about the letter. He pointed out it called for a moratorium on incarceration.

The committee appointed by Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Christopher Murphy to screen applicants for Connecticut vacancies on the federal bench meets in secrecy and imposes that secrecy on applicants. A more open process might have revealed the extraordinary letter during the early stages of the selection process..

Published November 5, 2023.