Barring surprises during the confirmation process, Associate Justice Richard A. Robinson appears well qualified for elevation to Connecticut Supreme Court chief justice and should receive House and Senate approval.

And surprises seem unlikely because Robinson’s record is well vetted. He has gone through this process several times before. Republican Gov. John G. Rowland first appointed him as a Superior Court judge in 2000. Another Republican governor, M. Jodi Rell, named Robinson to the Appellate Court in 2007.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is nominating Robinson for chief justice, appointed him to the state’s highest court. Robinson joined the court in 2013 after his confirmation by the General Assembly. Robinson and Malloy have a past professional relationship, Robinson having worked as assistant legal counsel during Malloy’s time as mayor of Stamford.

Robinson is arguably more qualified than the man the governor originally named to the post, Associate Justice Andrew J. McDonald. After a bitter confirmation fight, the Senate rejected McDonald’s nomination as chief justice on a 19-16 vote, largely along party lines, with Senate Republicans united in opposition.

Unlike Robinson, McDonald had no experience as a judge when Malloy first named him to the Supreme Court. But it was McDonald’s political ties — he is a former Democratic state senator and served as legal counsel for Gov. Malloy — and most critically his tie-breaking vote in the Supreme Court’s 4-3 decision that put an end to what remained of the death penalty in Connecticut, which doomed his nomination.

Having arrived on the Supreme Court the year after the death penalty ruling, Robinson will not have a record to defend on that highly emotional legal issue.

Senate Republican leader Len Fasano of North Haven, whose opposition proved critical in blocking McDonald’s appointment, told the Connecticut Mirror he saw no confirmation difficulties for Robinson. A less contentious confirmation process would be a welcomed development.

If confirmed, Robinson would become the first African-American elevated to Connecticut chief justice. A former president of the Stamford branch of the NAACP and past chairman of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, Robinson’s experiences suggest he will bring to the job of directing the Judicial Branch a heightened sensitivity towards assuring that justice is delivered fairly and equitably.

Robinson would replace retiring Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers and we would expect him to continue her record of making court operations more transparent to the public.

The Day editorial board meets with political, business and community leaders to formulate editorial viewpoints. It is composed of President and Publisher Timothy Dwyer, Executive Editor Izaskun E. Larraneta, Owen Poole, copy editor, and Lisa McGinley, retired deputy managing editor. The board operates independently from The Day newsroom.