The Honorable Richard A. Robinson was born December 10, 1957 in Stamford,
Connecticut. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University
of Connecticut in 1979 and a Juris Doctor degree from West Virginia
University School of Law in 1984. He was admitted to the West Virginia Bar
and the Connecticut Bar, and is a member of the U.S. District Court,
Northern District of West Virginia and the U.S. District Court, Connecticut.
From 1985 - 1988, Justice Robinson was Staff Counsel for the City of
Stamford Law Department. In 1988, he became Assistant Corporation Counsel in
Stamford where he remained until his appointment as a Judge of the Superior
Court in 2000. He remained a Superior Court Judge for the next seven years
during which time he served as Presiding Judge (Civil) for the New Britain
Judicial District (May 2003 - September 2006); Presiding Judge (Civil) and
Assistant Administrative Judge for the Ansonia/Milford Judicial District
(September 2006 - September 2007); and Presiding Judge (Civil) for the
Stamford Judicial District (September 2007 - December 2007). He
was appointed as a Judge of the Connecticut Appellate Court on December 10,
2007, a Justice of the Supreme Court on December 19, 2013 and the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court on May 3, 2018.
Justice Robinson’s career is complemented by an array of public and
judicial service. He served as President of the Stamford Branch of the NAACP
(1988-1990); General Counsel for the Connecticut Conference of the NAACP
(1988 - 2000); President of the Assistant Corporation Counsel’s Union (AFSCME)
(1989 - 2000); Commissioner of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and
Opportunities (1997 - 2000); Chair of the Connecticut Commission on Human
Rights and Opportunities (1999 - 2000); New Haven Inn of Court member
(2002 - present); Judicial Education Curriculum Committee
member (2002 - 2014); Judicial Education Committee member (2003 - 2014);
Faculty at several Judicial Institutes as well as spring and fall lectures
(2003 - present); Civil Commission member (2005 - 2014); Court Annexed
Mediator (2005 - 2014); Lawyers Assistance Advisory Board member
(2007 - present); Bench-Bar Foreclosure Committee (2007 - 2014); Legal
Internship Committee (2013 - 2017); Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Cultural
Competency (2009-2022); Chairperson of the Rules Committee (2017-2018);
Connecticut Bar Association Young Lawyers Section Diversity Award (2010);
Connecticut Bar Association's Henry J. Naruk Judiciary Award for Integrity (2017);
NAACP 100 Most Influential Blacks in Connecticut; Connecticut Bar Foundation James W.
Cooper Fellows, Life Fellow; Discovering Amistad National Advisory Board; Commission on
Human Rights and Opportunities’ Alvin W. Penn Award for Excellence in Leadership (2018);
Ebony Magazine Power 100 Award (2018); Quinnipiac School of Law Black Student Association
Thurgood Marshall Award (2019); ABOTA Judicial Excellence Award (2019); Connecticut Bar
Foundation Distinguished Service Award (2020); First Vice President, National Center for State Courts; National Board of Directors of National Center for State Courts (2019 - 2022, 2023 - 2024); Conference of Chief Justices (2018 - present); National Judicial Task Force to Examine State Courts’ Response to Mental Illness (2020 - 2022); Committee on Federal-State Jurisdiction of the Judicial Conference of the United States (2022- present).