Council Members and Staff

The Council consists of the following:

Three Superior or Appellate Court judge members
Three attorney members
Six public members
Two alternate judge members
Two alternate attorney members
Three alternate public members
Three alternate family support magistrate members
Three alternate workers' compensation commissioner members

Whenever the Council considers a complaint against a workers' compensation commissioner member, an alternate workers' compensation commissioner member replaces a judge member. Likewise, when the Council considers a complaint against a family support magistrate, an alternate family support magistrate member replaces a judge member. At the present time, terms of regular members are four years. A regular member may not serve consecutive terms. Alternate members serve terms of three years and cannot serve consecutive terms as an alternate member. An alternate member could, at the termination of his or her term, be appointed a regular member. The Chairperson and members are appointed by the Governor with the approval of the Legislature.  The names of the present regular and alternate members of the Council and the dates their terms expire are listed below.

Members

REGULAR MEMBERS: (Four-year terms)
Attorney Members:
Stephanie Roberge, Esq. (Chairperson)
Mark D. Phillips, Esq.
Joaquina Borges King, Esq.
Judge Members:
Hon. James Abrams
Hon. Kevin A. Randolph
Hon. Dawne G. Westbrook
Public Members:
Basil R.A. Mahoney
Jia Luo
Katherine Verano
Lynda Sorenson
Stephen M. Carroll
Michelle M. Murphy
ALTERNATE MEMBERS: (Three-year terms)
Family Support Magistrate Members:
Hon. Michael L. Ferguson
Hon. Anthony P. Fusco
(Vacancy)
Workers' Compensation Commissioner Members:
Commissioner Peter Mlynarczyk
Commissioner Daniel Dilzer
Commissioner Soline Oslena
Judge Members:
Hon. Karen A. Goodrow
Hon. Vernon Oliver
Alternate Attorney Members:
William F. Dow, lll, Esq.
(Vacancy)
Public Members:
(Vacancy)
(Vacancy)
(Vacancy)

BIOGRAPHIES OF COUNCIL MEMBERS
AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

JUDGE MEMBERS: 

HONORABLE JAMES ABRAMS currently serves as the both the Chief Administrative Judge for the Civil Division statewide and the Administrative Judge for the New Haven Judicial District. He also sits as a civil trial judge and mediates cases as part of the Judicial Alternate Dispute Resolution program. During his judicial career, he’s also presided over housing, foreclosure, family and criminal matters in the New Britain, Middletown, New London, and Waterbury Judicial Districts. He is an honors graduate of University of Connecticut School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Trinity College. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2007, he was an attorney in private practice, served as a member of the Connecticut General Assembly, and as Corporation Counsel for the City of Meriden. He also serves on the board of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (“NEASC”).

 

Honorable Dawne G. Westbrook was appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court in February 2009. Judge Westbrook received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and philosophy, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1992. She graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Law in Nashville, Tennessee in 1995 and was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1999.Former Governor M. Jodi Rell nominated Judge Westbrook to the bench on February 2, 2009, and she was sworn in on February 26, 2009.  Since then, she has served at Hartford’s Geographical Area No. 14 Courthouse and Manchester’s Geographical Area No. 12 Courthouse.  She also has served in Hartford’s Family Court.  In 2013, Judge Westbrook was assigned to the Rockville Courthouse for Juvenile Matters, where she remains.  In September 2017, she became administrative judge for the Tolland Judicial District; Judge Westbrook was named Chief Administrative Judge for Juvenile Matters September 6, 2021. 

The Honorable Judge Randolph was appointed to the bench in 2006.  He has been a member of the Public Service and Trust Commission, the Judicial Branch Performance Evaluation Committee and the Sentence Review Commission as an alternate.  Judge Randolph has served as a presiding judge in criminal and juvenile courts in Waterbury, Manchester, Enfield, Stamford/Danbury and Norwalk.  A graduate of Western New England College School of Law, Judge Randolph was a member of the National Moot Court Team and was awarded the Best Oral Argument prize in the Northeast Regional Round of the Frederick Douglas Moot Court Competition in 1988.  In his private law practice Judge Randolph tried seven capital felony/death eligible trials to verdict. He was a member of the Federal District of Connecticut Criminal Justice Advisory Committee, the Criminal Justice Act Death Penalty Panel, the Office of the Public Defender Death Penalty Panel and the State Department of Education Neutral Arbitrator Panel.

ATTORNEY MEMBERS: 

MARK D. PHILLIPS, ESQ. (FORMER CHAIRMAN) is a principal at the Law Office of Mark D. Phillips, where he devotes his practice to criminal defense and plaintiff civil tort litigation. He was appointed by Governor Dannel Malloy to serve as Chairman of the Judicial Review Council. Mr. Phillips is admitted to the Bars of Connecticut and New York and the Federal Court for the District of Connecticut. He is a member of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. Mr. Phillips has served as a Part A Special Public Defender since 1991, qualified in all courts throughout Connecticut. He has been a Continuing Legal Education lecturer on topics of Criminal Defense, Personal Injury Litigation, and Firearms Laws in Connecticut, and he has been honored by Connecticut Magazine Super Lawyers and New England Super Lawyers from 2010 through the present. Mr. Phillips earned a Bachelors degree from Hobart College, and a Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law. During law school, he was selected for membership in both the Law Journal and Moot Court Program where he also was selected as a member of Syracuse Law’s National Trial Team. Mr. Phillips volunteers his time to various charitable causes and has been recognized by Abilis Agency as an Outstanding Community Partner for his legal support of people with developmental disabilities, and he has served as a Connecticut Justice of the Peace since 1997

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PUBLIC MEMBERS:

 

ALTERNATE MEMBERS:

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ATTORNEY KEVIN J. DUNN was appointed Executive Director of the Judicial Review Council effective May 17, 2021.