(04/09/07) HARTFORD ? The Legislature?s Judiciary Committee unanimously approved Governor Jodi Rell?s (R-CT) choice for state Supreme Court chief justice Monday.

The approval marks the first hurdle cleared for Appellate Court Judge Chase T. Rogers. The nomination now goes to the House and Senate, where Rogers is expected to win confirmation easily. Co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Sen. Andrew McDonald (D-Stamford), said, ?She is potentially going to be in charge of the branch for 20 years, so of course the debate here and the debate on the floor of the House and Senate is going to be extraordinarily important.?

Rell nominated Rogers after her first choice, Supreme Court Justice Peter Zarella, withdrew his name amid a scandal involving ex-Supreme Court Justice William Sullivan. If the confirmation goes through, Rogers would become the state?s second female chief justice. Ellen Ash was the first from 1984 to 1996.