Probate Redistricting Addendum Recommends Darien-New Canaan Court

New Canaan may have won what seemed like an impossible fight against a plan to consolidate its probate court with three others in Darien, Westport, and Weston; and the possibility of a Darien-New Canaan court may become a reality.

The state Probate Redistricting Commission approved recommendations Friday for consolidating Connecticut's 117 courts to 50. The approved plan involves some rejiggering of the probate map proposed in June, although there are no further changes to the districts in Fairfield County.

But, the plan was passed with an addendum recommending that the Connecticut General Assembly and Governor Rell consider a 53-court system, including a separate Darien-New Canaan court as suggested by New Canaan Probate Judge Russel Kimes, Jr.

"I was surprised and pleased to see that they considered that," said Kimes who was in Hartford to witness the vote, and who had testified against the proposal to put New Canaan into a four-town district. Kimes was cautiously optimistic about the addendum which would see his two-court compromise instated. "(We've) got a long way to go," he said, "Right now it's the four-town court."

The redistricting plan will now go to the legislature which must call a special session to vote on it and decide on the addendum.

State Representative Bob Godfrey of Danbury, who served as chairman of the commission, is very confident that the addendum will get the backing of the legislature and ultimately earn the governor's signature. Godfrey said he's been talking with his legislative colleagues "informally, over a sandwich," about the idea for 53 courts, which would exceed the 50-court maximum set by the probate consolidation statute. "This, as we say, has feet," he said.

In mid-August, when the New Canaan Board of Selectmen passed a resolution ahead of a public hearing on probate consolidation asking the commission to consider a New Canaan-Darien court, First Selectmen Jeb Walker said, "I don't know if we have a prayer."

"He was just wrong. Prayers do work," Godfrey said Friday.

Selectman Rob Mallozzi was also floored by the commission's favorable response to New Canaan's compromise.

"It never goes our way. That's amazing," Mallozzi said upon hearing the news. "We have very little say, as (local) politicians, in the probate thing, even though it's in our town hall."

Godrey says the commission was sympathetic to the desire of small towns like Darien and New Canaan, to maintain convenient access to probate courts for their residents.

"These (are) very compassionate courts that people use maybe once or twice in a lifetime (when) they just lost a loved one, they're doing an adoption, making a decision about a parent's health care. It's really a touchstone for a lot of families," Godfrey said.

He says the commission also recognized the fact that a combined Darien-New Canaan-Westport-Weston court would be the only non-contiguous district on the map. Redistricting rules also require that the remaining courthouses be able to accommodate the workload of the the consolidated districts; a Darien-New Canaan merger would allow that, while it's uncertain how that would be accomplished in the four-court configuration without the construction of new infrastructure.

And Godfrey said a 53-court system, with additional courts here and in the Farmington Valley and greater Colchester areas, would still meet the goal of the probate consolidation to save Connecticut taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. That should make the addendum an easy sell.

"It's a happy day," Godfrey said Friday.