Judge Melanie L. Cradle graduated from Adelphi University with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Sociology in 1993 and earned her Juris Doctor from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1998.

Judge Cradle was appointed a Judge of the Appellate Court by Governor Ned Lamont on July 20, 2020 and her nomination was approved on August 12, 2020. Prior to this appointment and beginning in 2013, Judge Cradle served as a Superior Court judge, where she heard criminal cases in Bridgeport for a year before moving to the New Haven Judicial District in 2014. She was appointed to the position of Presiding Judge of GA 23 in New Haven in 2015, and continued to serve in that capacity until her appointment to the Appellate Court.

Judge Cradle serves on the Criminal Justice Commission and the CBA Rule of Law Committee. Judge Cradle is a member of the Swift's Inn and is a James W. Cooper Fellow with the Connecticut Bar Foundation. Additionally, Judge Cradle is an adjunct professor at the Quinnipiac University School of Law, and a member of the Judicial Branch’s Civics Academy. Judge Cradle previously served as a member of the New Haven Inn of Court, a mentor for newly appointed judges through the Judicial Branch’s Mentor Program, an instructor for the Judicial Branch’s Pre-Bench Orientation Program, and has presented courses to her colleagues at the Connecticut Judges’ Institute. In addition, Judge Cradle served on the Rules Committee of the Superior Court from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2020 and on the Law Library Advisory Committee from July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2022.

Prior to Judge Cradle’s appointment, she was Senior Assistant State’s Attorney for the Ansonia/Milford Judicial District. She also served as Assistant State’s Attorney in the New Haven Geographical Area courthouse.