05/14/99

'Veneer of Civilization'

Judge Arthur Spada, who presides over the Hartford Superior Court, believes that every person, under the influences of church, school and family, develops a second skin, a veneer of civilization. Beneath that veneer is a creature of the jungle. No one knows why the jungle creature sometimes erupts, in defiance of civilizing influences, to commit a crime. Be it the doctor who molests, the banker who embezzles or the spouse who abuses, it is the judge's job to mete out consequences for criminal misconduct in accordance with the laws of the state and nation. "I take no pleasure in sentencing anyone," Judge Spada says. "That is the most onerous burden a judge faces, because it means depriving someone of their liberty, our most sacred possession."

Judge Spada has presided over the Hartford Superior Court for 22 years. Appointed by the governor and approved by the legislature, superior court judges serve eight-year terms, automatically renewed unless deemed unfit by the legislature. Superior court judges set all sentences except those in capitol felony (murder) cases, which are set by statute as life in prison without parole or death. There are seven people on death row in Connecticut, where no execution has taken place since 1954.

All of these cases are now under appeal to the CT Supreme Court. Judge Spada supports the death penalty against criminals who commit murder with malice of forethought and show no remorse. "Someone who guns down a police officer," he says, "should face the death penalty, because police officers are our keepers of democracy and all its principles of rule of law, fairness and civilization. To murder a police officer is like stabbing our Republic in the heart."

Courts in Connecticut are currently bogged down under too many cases. "There are 89 murder cases pending in the Hartford Judicial District alone," Judge Spada notes. "With each case taking an average of four months to try, at the rate of three cases per year, it will take the five judges hearing these cases approximately six years to hear them. Of course there will be more murders during that time." Each of the urban Judicial Districts, like New Haven, Waterbury, Bridgeport and New London, has excessive murder case backlogs. Hundreds of cases pending on other serious charges, such as armed robbery, sexual assault and rape, further clog Connecticut's courts.

In Judge Spada's opinion, there are three main reasons for this legal logjam:

1. Too many people have a right to a trial by jury. Only those who commit serious crimes, leading to sentences longer than 6 months, should receive a jury trial. A single judge would hear and decide the lesser cases, thus speeding up the process.

2. Attorneys interview every prospective juror individually; a process that can take three or four months before the trial even starts. Group interviews to narrow the field of possible jurors could greatly accelerate this process.

3. An attorney can refuse a prospective juror for any reason at all. For example, one attorney excused an engineer, Judge Spada recalls, because he didn't want someone too methodical on the jury. This aspect of the jury selection process also needs an overhaul.

In addition to his role as an officer of the court, Judge Spada contributes as much time as he can to educating the public. "As people advance in knowledge gained from experience," he says, "they have a responsibility to share that knowledge with others." He often guest-lectures in high school government classes and takes questions from the public on a monthly radio show called "You Be the Judge."

The show airs from 7:15 am to 7:45 am, on station WDRC-AM, 1360 on the radio dial. Each month Judge Spada presents the facts of a case to Brad Davis, program broadcaster, and asks him what he thinks the trial judge or appellate court decided. Listeners are encouraged to call in with their opinions and questions. Tune in for Judge Spada's next scheduled radio appearance on May 30, 1999 - and, "You Be the Judge!"

LINKS:

Role of the Connecticut Courts

Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty

Visit the CT Courts

Please send questions or comments to bbruno@snet.net.