Flemming L. Norcott Jr. (born October 11, 1943) is a former Associate Justice of the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...

. He was appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court in 1979 and remained there until his elevation to the Connecticut Appellate Court in 1987. He was appointed to the

in 1992, to a seat vacated by the retirement of Justice David M. Shea. He also serves as Associate Fellow of

Calhoun College Grace Hopper College is a residential college of Yale University, opened in 1933 as one of the original eight undergraduate residential colleges endowed by Edward Harkness. It was originally named Calhoun College after US Vice President Jo ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, as well as a lecturer. Justice Norcott received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1965 and a Juris Doctor degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1968. He was born in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...

Notable Decisions

Sheff v. O'Neill is a landmark 1996 Connecticut Supreme Court decision regarding

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

and the right to

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

. The Court ruled that the state had an affirmative obligation to provide Connecticut's school children with a substantially equal educational opportunity and that this constitutionally guaranteed right encompasses the access to a public education which is not substantially and materially impaired by racial and ethnic isolation. This was a split 4-3 decision, which was authored by Chief Justice

Ellen Ash Peters Ellen Ash Peters (March 21, 1930 – April 17, 2024) was an American lawyer and judge. She was appointed to the Connecticut Supreme Court in 1978. She was the first woman appointed to that court. Early life and education Ellen Ash was born in ...

. She was joined in the majority opinion by Justices Robert Berdon, Norcott, and

Joette Katz Joette Katz (born February 3, 1953) is an American attorney who is a partner at the law firm, Shipman & Goodwin LL She was an associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, where she also served as the administrative judge for the state a ...

. Justice David Borden authored the dissent, with Justices Robert Callahan and Richard Palmer concurring with the dissent. Justice Norcott authored the majority opinion in the controversial 2004 '' Kelo v. New London'' case related to

eminent domain Eminent domain, also known as land acquisition, compulsory purchase, resumption, resumption/compulsory acquisition, or expropriation, is the compulsory acquisition of private property for public use. It does not include the power to take and t ...

. He was joined by Justices David Borden, Richard Palmer and Christine Vertefeuille. The dissent was written by Justice Peter T. Zarella and joined by Chief Justice

William J. Sullivan William J. Sullivan (March 12, 1939 – June 6, 2022) was an American judge trial referee of the Connecticut Superior Court. He served as chief justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Connecticut Appellate Court by Gov. Jo ...

and Justice

. The majority opinion was subsequently upheld by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. On October 10, 2008, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled in ''

Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health ''Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health'', 289 Conn. 135, 957 A.2d 407, is a 2008 decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court holding that allowing same-sex couples to form same-sex unions but not marriages violates the Constitution of Connecti ...

'' 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 Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) 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 Norcott,

, and Judge Lubbie Harper Jr.; Justices Peter T. Zarella,

Christine S. Vertefeuille Christine Siegrist Vertefeuille (born December 10, 1950) is a Senior Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court. Life She is a Connecticut native, born in New Britain, Connecticut. She graduated from Trinity College with a Bachelor of Arts in Pol ...

, and David Borden dissented. Most recently, Justice Norcott wrote the Court's opinion in Bysiewicz v. DiNardo, holding that Secretary of State

Susan Bysiewicz Susan Bysiewicz ( ; born September 29, 1961) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 109th lieutenant governor of Connecticut since 2019. She previously served as the 72nd secretary of the state of Connecticut from 1999 to 2 ...

did not fulfill the statutory prerequisite of 10 years of service as an attorney to run for Attorney General.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norcott Jr., Flemming L. 1943 births Living people Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut Taft School alumni Columbia Law School alumni Yale University faculty African-American judges Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court Columbia College (New York) alumni 21st-century African-American lawyers 20th-century African-American lawyers