Karen Lee Torre
Karen Lee Torre, a New Haven trial lawyer, litigates civil rights issues in the federal court. Her e-mail address is thimbleislands@att.net.
Legally Conservative
State's Bond Procedures In Need Of Reform
Monday, June 11, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
In last week's column, I noted the asymmetry of the governor's condemning as "despicable" alleged financial scamming by a congressional campaign official while ignoring some truly despicable efforts by his subordinates and others to give cover to an illicit plan to divert $300,000 in state funds to Communist Party officials so they can (purportedly) renovate their New Haven headquarters. This week's column must fairly give credit where due, and the credit goes to Gov. Danell Malloy.
Legally Conservative
Governor Malloy's Despicable Standards
Monday, June 4, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
"Allegations like this not only damage a campaign or a candidate, they also undermine citizens' belief in their government's ability to carry out its responsibilities." This was Gov. Dannel Malloy talking in response to news of the arrest on federal charges of Robert Braddock Jr., campaign finance director for Democrat Chris Donovan, candidate for Congress from the state's 5th District.
Legally Conservative
Connecticut Now Requires Racial Profiling
Monday, May 21, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
I remember the moment when a prominent Yale professor realized that I was not Hispanic. It was a most demeaning experience, one that played a role in my evolution to conservatism. His was a soft bigotry, typical of the liberal elite whose charitable giving to minorities is a means to affirm their noblesse. A teenaged visiting student, I had aced his class (or so I thought), and he suggested I transfer there; he would gladly serve as a reference. And then it came: "You know, we're reaching out for Hispanics now," and he mentioned another student, a "Mexican from Texas," whom he was also patronizing.
Legally Conservative
The Law of Human Nature - A Titanic Encounter
Monday, April 9, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
You can't make this stuff up, I thought, as I stared at the TV. If not for realizing that people were going to die, I would have laughed. Earlier, I had joined relatives for a leisurely last meal at sea. We would disembark in the morning. I had partied to excess and needed a pillow. While the others went off for more, I stumbled to my stateroom.
Legally Conservative
Bridgeport Guardians Case: An Intervention Chess Game
Monday, March 5, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
This third column in a series profiling Bridgeport Guardians v. Delmonte offers unwary lawyers and especially law students an understanding that the depictions of federal courts in hornbooks and by law professors do not reveal the realities confronted by practitioners. Many professors have never stepped foot in a court. Their students are made to focus on opinions and rules of civil procedure, not on what transpired behind them in a given case. Professors cannot teach what they do not know.
Legally Conservative
Bridgeport Guardians Case: Moving The Money Around
Monday, February 27, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
Last week, in Part I of an expose on Bridgeport Guardians v. Delmonte (Law Tribune, Feb. 20, 2012), I introduced readers to a poster case for the shenanigans and machinations that can occur in a federal court race case when no one is looking. In follow-ups, I will show what happens when someone starts looking and dares to object, but is shooed away by the judge, whose questionable orders issue with the blessing of colluding parties.
Legally Conservative
DOJ's Demography Despots Bully Their Way Into East Haven
Monday, January 30, 2012 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
Federal Department of Justice officials recently flew into New Haven and, before a gaggle of reporters summoned to a press conference, released the DOJ Civil Rights Division's at-last-final investigative report into alleged "racial profiling" and abuses of "Latinos" by the East Haven Police Department. Heavy with histrionics and sweeping rhetoric, it reads more like a stump speech by a Democrat running for mayor of a sanctuary city.
Legally Conservative
Ellipses Are A Red Flag
Monday, January 3, 2011 | by Karen Lee Torre | The Connecticut Law Tribune
How often do you bother to confirm the accuracy of a quotation from a case contained in a brief filed by your opposing counsel? Do you check each block or parenthetical quote word for word? Should you? It depends on who your opposing counsel is. For many of my opponents, I do not bother to check because of their reputation for honesty.
