Justice Maria Araujo Kahn was born in Angola, Africa. She emigrated to the United States at ten years of age and is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish. She graduated from New York University cum laude with a B.A. in politics in 1986 and earned her Juris Doctor from Fordham University School of Law in 1989. Justice Kahn was the first recipient of the Noreen E. McNamara Scholarship at Fordham University School of Law. Following law school, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Peter C. Dorsey, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Connecticut. She is a member of the United States Supreme Court, United States Federal District Court for the District of Connecticut, United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit, and the Connecticut and New York State Bars.

Governor Dannel P. Malloy nominated Justice Kahn to the Supreme Court on October 4, 2017 and she was sworn in on November 1, 2017. Prior to this appointment, Justice Kahn served as a judge of the Appellate Court and as a judge of the Superior Court, where she primarily heard criminal matters.

Before becoming a judge, Justice Kahn was an Assistant U.S. Attorney in New Haven. As a federal prosecutor, Justice Kahn was responsible for complex white collar investigations and prosecutions, both civil and criminal, in the areas of health care fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud and trade secrets.

Justice Kahn has been honored on several occasions with awards including: the Department of Justice Special Achievement Awards in 1998 to 2006, and the Department of Health and Human Services, OIG, Integrity Awards. On November 3, 2017, the Portuguese Bar Association presented Justice Kahn with the “Americo Ventura Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Justice Kahn is co-chair of the Judicial Branch’s Access to Justice Commission and the Limited English Proficiency Committee. She was also a member of the Judges’ Education Committee and has taught several courses at the Connecticut Judges’ Institute. Justice Kahn is a James W. Cooper Fellow with the Connecticut Bar Foundation.