Barbara Jongbloed, a judge for Connecticut’s Superior Court since 2000, has been nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.  While Jongbloed is a registered Democrat, this is her second nomination by a Republican executive, having been tapped for state court by Gov. John Rowland.

Background

Jongbloed was born in Washington D.C. in 1959.  She earned her B.A. from Lawrence University in 1981 and her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1984.  After graduating law school, she clerked for U.S. District Judge T. Gilroy Daly, before joining Day Berry & Howard in Stamford, Connecticut.  In 1987, Jongbloed moved to the public sector as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, staying in the office for thirteen years, the last two as criminal chief.  In 2000, Jongbloed was nominated by Rowland to become a Superior Court Judge in New London, where she currently serves.

History of the Seat

Jongbloed was nominated to a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut on October 15, 2019.  The vacancy opened on August 31, 2018, with Judge Alvin Thompson’s move to senior status.

In August 2018, Jongbloed applied for the judgeship with Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Democrats.  They recommended Jongbloed to the White House in March 2019.  

Legal Career

Jongbloed’s primary experience before becoming a judge was as a federal prosecutor.  Over the thirteen years she was at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Jongbloed tried 14 cases to verdict.  Jongbloed was co-counsel with fellow Connecticut federal judge Kari Dooley in the prosecution of Stewart Leonard, who was sentenced to 52 months in federal prison for embezzlement.^[1]  She also prosecuted Greenwich Acupuncture Center and its owners for various forms of fraud.^[2] 

Jurisprudence

Jongbloed has served as a Judge on the Connecticut Superior Court since 2000, when she was appointed by Republican Gov. John Rowland.  In the past 19 years, Jongbloed has presided over approximately 105 cases that have proceeded to verdict and judgment.  Among these, Jongbloed has not hesitated to issue long sentences in criminal cases where she deems it appropriate.  For example, she sentenced Dante Hughes, who shot a good samaritan who was attempting to intervene in a domestic dispute, to 50 years in prison.^[3]  Similarly, she sentenced George Leinart to the mandatory sentence of life for capital felony for the death of a 15 year old girl,^[4] and sentenced Mozzelle Brown to 56 years in prison for the murder of physicist Eugene Mallove.^[5]  In fact, the two cases in which Jongbloed was reversed over her tenure as a judge, both involve rulings in favor of the prosecution which were overruled by the Connecticut Supreme Court.^[6]

Overall Assessment

Jongbloed’s status as a Democrat nominated by Trump will likely be enough to satisfy partisans on either side to let her move through without a fight.  Nonetheless, setting aside party affiliation, Jongbloed has extensive experience both as an attorney and as a state court judge, which should quell concerns about her jurisprudence.

---