Calling Hours For Former Judge William L. Wollenberg Set For Friday

The calling hours for former Judge William L. Wollenberg are Friday afternoon in  his hometown of Farmington.

Friends may call from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Ahern Funeral Home at 111 Main Street in the Unionville section of town. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church at 145 Main Street in Unionville.

Wollenberg served for 12 years in the state legislature before being nominated as a Superior Court judge by then-Gov. John G. Rowland. He served in various courthouses before becoming a trial referee and then the chief administrative judge for the trial referees.

He died Monday at the age of 79, one week before his 80th birthday.

At the end of his political career, Wollenberg was nominated for a judgeship in December 1996 by then-Republican Gov. John G. Rowland in the same high-profile class of judges that included Democrat Barbara M. Quinn, who is now the chief court administrator, and Peter Zarella, a Republican who rose to the state Supreme Court.

A conservative, Wollenberg often squared off on issues like the death penalty and gay rights in epic battles on judicial issues as he thundered on the House floor against Rep. Richard Tulisano, an equally fiery Democrat and civil libertarian. The peak of those battles was in the late 1980s and early 1990s when each of them delivered fiery speeches on the House floor.

Sen. Martin M. Looney, who is now the Senate majority leader, has said that he ”learned as much law from Bill and Richard as I did in law school.”

After a career as a Superior Court judge at various courthouses, he became a trial referee in July 2002 and then chief administrative judge for the trial referees in 2007.

Born in Hartford, Wollenberg attended Farmington High School, Middlebury College in Vermont and the University of Connecticut law school. A former chairman of the Farmington school board, he started serving in the state House of Representatives in January 1983 and eventually became the co-chairman of the powerful judiciary committee when the Republicans controlled the House for two years. It was on that committee that he clashed philosophically with Tulisano, who reigned with far-reaching powers when  he served as judiciary co-chairman.

Wollenberg was known as one of the top debaters among the House Republicans until he became a judge. His nomination was approved by the judiciary committee – the same committee where he had served for years.

When Wollenberg came up for a judgeship, Tulisano – who was no longer on the committee at that point – testifed on his behalf. After his testimony, Tulisano walked over to the startled Wollenberg and gave him a traditional Italian kiss.