Press
Reviews of The Common Flaw
The Way We Have Always Done It: On Thomas G. Moukawsher’s “The Common Flaw” – Los Angeles Review of Books
Judges are by nature very conservative. We are suspicious of change, and often cite as authority “the way we’ve always done it.” We literally follow old cases for this reason under a convenient Latin term: stare decisis. There is simply no other explanation for yellow legal pads than habit. We wear black robes because, well, we do, and have done so for hundreds of years.
Features
Common Sense Over Formalism: Retiring Judge’s New BookHas Parting Thoughts for CT Judiciary – Connecticut Law Tribune
Ahead of his retirement, Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s new book, The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways to Reduce It, lands on an instructive note.
Interviews
Judge Thomas Moukawsher Has 50 Ways to Reduce Needless Court Complexities – The Lisa Wexler Show
Thomas Moukawsher, CT Superior Court Judge, joins Lisa Wexler to discuss his book The Common Flaw in American Courts which outlines what reforms are needed, from filing a complaint, to drafting appellate decisions, in order to create a more human-centered and accessible legal system.
CT ’23: New book looks at problems with judicial system – WFSB Connecticut
Judge Thomas Moukawsher talks about his new book in which he outlines some of the problems with the judicial system.
Why Are Americans Losing Confidence in The Judicial System With Judge Thomas Moukawsher – Can We Please Talk?
Superior court judge & author of the book ‘The Common Flaw: Needless Complexities in the court and 50 ways to reduce it’, Thomas Moukawsher joins the pod to discuss his new book, how he would preside over high profile cases such as fmr. President Trump & more.
Complex litigation judge has 50 ideas to simplify the courts – ABA Journal: Modern Law Library Podcast
In this episode of The Modern Law Library podcast, Moukawsher and the ABA Journal’s Lee Rawles discuss his ideas and his new book, The Common Flaw: Needless Complexity in the Courts and 50 Ways To Reduce It.
Articles
Courts have to earn trust now every day with efficiency and fairness – Hartford Courant
There isn’t a lot of praise circulating for American institutions today. Even though we can see abundant evidence of the shortcomings of alternative systems in Russia, China and elsewhere, too many Americans are buying populist propaganda against their own government.
Judges don’t have to put up with litigants’ sniping in the media – The Hill
Perhaps President Donald Trump has crossed the line with his comments about court proceedings. Or perhaps he hasn’t. Let’s now consider the merits.
The Needless Complexity of Our Courts – Governing
Lawsuits take years, draining money and frustrating everyone involved. The few cases that do make it to trial generate indecipherable rulings. It all undermines faith in our system, and it doesn’t have to be this way.
What Donald Trump’s case teaches us: Litigation takes forever – The Hill
Forget for a moment whether former President Donald Trump deserves to float or sink amid the waves of lawsuits washing over him. Consider instead what this sea of trouble teaches us about the state of our legal system.
Judges Should Avoid Herd Mentality and a Default to Precedent – Bloomberg Law
Judges know a lot about consensus. Consistency is an important attribute of a legal system. That’s why precedent from a higher court must be followed by a lower court.
Judges: Guard ‘your honor’ – ABA Journal
I’m a judge, and I admit it: I like being called “your honor.” Call me entitled if you want, but I disagree with the Kentucky federal judge who made headlines last fall for saying that modesty forbids him from accepting this distinction.
Humanism Should Replace Formalism In The Courts – Law360
Contemporary American Judges have more in common with medieval monks than just wearing robes…
Media Comments
Connecticut Law Tribune
July 28, 2021
“Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s decision on mandated masks in Connecticut schools illustrates in clear and engaging prose, the historic and current importance of the separation of powers.”
“By explaining the reasoning, history and context behind his ruling in an easy-to-understand language, the judge did the public—the sovereign, if you will—a favor. In that sense, this was an opinion fit for a king.”
School Mask Mandates and Separation of Powers: A Judicial Opinion Worth Re- Reading. By Connecticut Law Tribune Editorial Board.
CT News Junkie
March 8, 2021
“stunning…” “In the decision, peppered with poetic turns of phrase like ‘slipping comfortably into oblivion,’ Moukawsher concluded that the Legislative branch has an obligation to oversee the ongoing emergency actions of a governor.”
Judge: Executive Orders Require Legislative Approval. By Hugh McQuaid.
New Haven Register
October 2, 2020
“If I were a more profligate hugger and if I thought Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher were the sort of person who liked being hugged and if we were not in the middle of a deadly pandemic, I would hug Judge Thomas Moukawsher.”
“I woke up thinking, we can’t have nice things anymore. Debates aren’t even nice things, and we can’t have those either. And then this man, this occasionally controversial jurist, stood up for the idea that stupid, dangerous fallacies marketed by unqualified people don’t deserve an equal footing with science and truth.”
Colin McEnroe, Why I want to Hug a Superior Court Judge (on the court’s disqualification of anti-mask doctors as experts).
Legal Newsline
January 17, 2019
“Allowing such cases to proceed would lead to a ‘wildly complex and bogus system’…wrote Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher in a breezy 16-page decision issued Jan. 8.”
CT Judge Rejects Opioid Claims, Says Allowing them Would Lead to ‘Junk Justice.’ By Daniel Fisher.
The Wall Street Journal
January 28, 2019
“Judge Moukawsher noted that the cities costs ‘are long radius and many concentric circles away from the simple observation that promoting more addiction creates more addicts.’” “[P]utting ‘precise numbers’ on damages…would be…‘junk justice…’”
The Government Opioid Raid: A state judge rebukes the trial bar and grasping politicians. By The Editorial Board.
Connecticut Law Tribune
March 14, 2018
“I started reading the judge’s…decisions and discovered a wonderful trove of language.”
“I could read his decisions forever.”
“Moukawsher, J., wastes no time with fools or foolishness. Upon retiring from the bench, he might try faits divers. Genius.”
Moukawsher’s Thoughtful Rulings Reveal a Very Learned Hand. By Mark Dubois.
Hartford Courant
September 8, 2016
“a broad and lucid indictment….”
Editorial: Legislature Must Draft a New Deal For CT Education.
September 18, 2016
“The image of a dapper dresser with a formal streak is reflected in the ornate language of the decision.”
Superior Court Judge Raises Profile with Divisive Education Ruling. By Daniela Altimari.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
September 18, 2016
“…good advice for every state….As Judge Moukawsher concluded, ‘The state has to accept that the schools are its blessing and its burden, and if it cannot be wise, it must at least be sensible.’”
Equity in funding public schools still eludes policymakers. By Maureen Downey.
The Boston Globe
September 29, 2016
“The recent frank rebuke to the Connecticut public school system from a state judge should reverberate in Massachusetts.”
Editorial: A stern warning from the Connecticut Bench.
Chicago Tribune
September 14, 2016.
“Yes, we’re jealous.
We devoured Connecticut Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher’s 90- page takedown of his state’s education status-quo-hugging system…
We read that with one thought in mind: Where’s ours? Why should Illinoisans be left to press their noses against the glass, pointing at a powerful judge’s assault on a system that mis-serves so many children and pining — We want one of those!”
Hard to believe a court ruling could be compelling? Try this: “The state’s definition of what it means to have a secondary education is like a sugar- cube boat. It dissolves before it’s half launched.”
Editorial: Who’ll make the case for children in Illinois?
The New Yorker
September 14, 2016
“… a smartly written, sometimes sardonic, and unusually pointed ninety- page opinion…”
Two Connecticut School Systems, for the Rich and Poor. By Lincoln Kaplan.
The New York Times
September 8, 2016
“A New England judge with a Southerner’s flair for metaphor, he criticized “uselessly perfect teacher evaluations” as part of a rating system, “that is little more than cotton candy in a rainstorm.”
An F Minus for America’s Schools From a Fed-Up Judge. By Kate Zernike.
The New York Times, Quotation of the Day
September 8, 2016
“Like a sugar cube boat. It dissolves before it’s half launched.”
JUDGE THOMAS G. MOUKAWSHER, on Connecticut’s definition of high school proficiency, in his ruling on how the state funds its schools.
