Trump nominates New London trial judge to federal bench
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bailey Jongbloed, who for the past decade has presided over trials of major crimes in the New London Judicial District, has been nominated as a federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Connecticut.
Jongbloed, 59, of Madison, is one of 15 attorneys nominated Wednesday by President Donald J. Trump to various federal court judgeships around the nation.
Her nomination requires confirmation by the U.S. Senate, and Connecticut's two U.S. Senators have issued a news release signaling they support both the nomination of Jongbloed as a U.S. District Judge and of a Connecticut federal prosecutor, William Nardini, as a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
"Barbara Jongbloed and Bill Nardini have long, deep connections with the Connecticut legal community, and we look forward to their confirmation processes," Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy said in a joint statement.
Jongbloed began her legal career as a federal prosecutor, and her husband, Peter S. Jongbloed, continues to serve in that role in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Lawrence University and her law degree from New York University School of Law.
She served as a law clerk to Chief Judge T.F. Gilroy Daly of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. Prior to her appointment as a judge, she served as an assistant United States attorney and chief of the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut.
She was appointed as a state Superior Court judge in 2000.
While on the state bench, she has been an active member of the Judicial Branch, including service on the state's Judicial Media Committee, which works to improve understanding of the roles of judges and members of the press.
Jongbloed has been the presiding trial judge in Courtroom 3 on Huntington Street, New London for about a decade, instructing jurors on the law, deciding which evidence should be admitted in court, ruling on legal arguments and handing down sentences in murder cases, sexual assaults, robberies and other crimes.
Last year, in sentencing Dante Hughes to 45 years in prison for the Dec. 11, 2016, shooting death of Joey Gingerella, she explained how she had crafted what she said was a just and reasonable sentence with the goals of holding the defendant accountable and enhancing public safety. Jongbloed told the victim's family that she realized no sentence she could impose would undo what had happened.
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