Page 8 - CLT022420

8 ¦ FEBRUARY 24, 2020 NEWS

¦ From DRONEY on PAGE 7 CLT: As a past member of the
I am not aware of all of the rea- board of directors of the Federal
sons for that involvement by the Judges Association, what is the
Justice Department, and I believe biggest issue of concern today for
that other officials should look federal judges, whether that be
into that part of the sentencing “The public statement by criticism from political leaders,
preparation. I think it’s unjusti- workload, stressors of the job or
fied to call for Attorney General the president about the some other area?
Barr’s resignation without first ex- Droney: The biggest issue
amining more deeply why the potential sentence for Roger
department intervened. Stone was unprecedented, recently for the Federal Judges As-
sociation and most of the federal
CLT: You returned to work in and of great concern to judges was the president’s involve-
Day Pitney’s litigation depart- me and so many other ment in the Stone sentencing.
ment Jan. 2. The firm is where former Justice Department
your private practice began 41 I believe that overall, our most
officials.” important concern has been the
- Christopher Droney

years ago. What has been the criticism of federal judges and
biggest impact or change in the their work by the president and
litigation world at Big Law during others. Our independence is the
those four decades? cornerstone of serving the inter-
Droney: The biggest change to ests of justice, and it should never
law practice over those years is be eroded.
the development of technology. We now have access The federal judges are not alone in their concern.
to court decisions and regulatory changes instanta- Just this week the American Bar Association de-
neously. Our communications with other lawyers manded an end to personal attacks on judges and
and clients is also much quicker through email and prosecutors.
texts. CLT: While on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
It looks to me that these changes have made re- Second Circuit in 2012, you provided the deciding
search and communication so much better. I used vote in Windsor v. United States, which held that
to like the quiet seclusion of the library and the the Equal Protection Clause guaranteed the right of
books. But I think we and our clients are much bet- same-sex couples to marry. The U.S. Supreme Court
ter served now. affirmed the ruling 5-4 the next year. Tell us what
CLT: You served as a judge for 22 years, both with the deciding factor was for you in casting your vote
the U.S. District Court for the District of Connect- guaranteeing the right of same-sex couples to marry.
icut and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Droney: I thought that it was very obvious that
Circuit. What was the most emotional case or the gay people had been the target of discrimination for
one that had the biggest impact on you and why? many years, and just like other protected classes de-
Droney: My most difficult case as a trial judge was served to have state and federal laws affecting them
a sex trafficking case involving many young girls as be subject to the same heightened scrutiny that pro-
victims. hibit other types of discrimination. That includes
Four of the victims testified as to the terrible lives their right to marry and to enjoy the rights of citi-
they had when they were being exploited, and it was zens we all enjoy.
very difficult for them to recount those horrors, as ¦

well for the jury to hear them. It was also very dif- Robert Storace covers legal trends, lawsuits and
ficult from a legal perspective because it was the first analysis for the Connecticut Law Tribune. Follow
prosecution in the nation involving the then-new him on Twitter @RobertSCTLaw or reach him at
federal sex trafficking statutes. 203-437-5950.

CONNECTICUT
Law Tribune