Rhode Island Supreme Court

Rhode Island Supreme Court

Established 1747 (colonial form) 1841, (current constitution)
Country United States
Location Providence, Rhode Island
Composition method Appointment by governor, legislative consent
Authorized by Rhode Island Constitution
Decisions are appealed to Supreme Court of the United States
No. of positions 5
Website Official website
Chief Justice
Currently Paul A. Suttell
Since July 16, 2009

The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial Nominating Commission. Each justice enjoys lifetime tenure and no mandatory retirement age, similar to Federal judges. Justices may be removed only if impeached for improper conduct by a vote of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and convicted by trial in the Rhode Island Senate.

History

In 1747, the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized the creation of a Superior Court of Judicature, Court of Assize, and General Gaol Delivery, consisting of one chief justice and four associates, all serving one year terms. The 1747 enactment replaced an earlier appeals court of the same name, which had been composed of the governor or deputy governor and at least six of the elected "assistants," which dated to 1729 under the same name and the composition dated back to the 1663 charter when it was known as the "General Court of Trials." This court had replaced an even earlier court formed under the Charter of 1644, a 1647 enactment of a code of laws, and a 1651 amendment creating appellate jurisdiction.[1]

Most of the judges during the 18th century were laymen, merchants or farmers and did not possess formal legal training, and therefore the court did not explicitly follow English common law. Parties, however, could still appeal to either the British monarch, English courts or the General Assembly until independence in 1776.[2]

Peleg Arnold, Chief Justice 1795–1812

In 1747 the General Assembly appointed the first Chief Justice, Gideon Cornell, who was a judge, farmer, and merchant, and the second, Joshua Babcock, a Yale-educated physician. Stephen Hopkins, later signatory of the Declaration of Independence, served as the third Chief Justice from 1747 to 1755.[2]

In 1798, the General Assembly renamed the Court the "Supreme Judicial Court," and in 1843, the "Supreme Court." The first officially recorded decision was Stoddard v. Martin, 1 R.I. 1 (1828), a case involving gambling on an election. Since 1930, the Court has been located within the Licht Judicial Complex at the base of College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island. Until 1994, the General Assembly sitting with both houses in "Grand Committee" chose the Supreme Court justices without the governor's consent. In 1994, after a wave of corruption scandals, citizens amended the Rhode Island Constitution to allow the governor to choose Supreme Court nominees from a list of candidates approved by a non-partisan nominating committee. Both houses of the General Assembly still must approve any nominees.

Current Justices

Name Born Appointed By Beginning of Active Service
Paul Suttell January 10, 1949 Donald Carcieri July 9, 2003 (as Associate Justice)
July 16, 2009 (as Chief)
Maureen McKenna Goldberg February 11, 1951 Lincoln Almond May 1997
Francis Flaherty January 8, 1947 Donald Carcieri 2003
William P. Robinson III January 30, 1940 Donald Carcieri 2004
Gilbert V. Indeglia August 31, 1941 Donald Carcieri April 28, 2010

Notable Cases


The Supreme Court in 2009

Notable Rhode Island Supreme Court Justices

Chief Justices of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

A few noted Chief Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court include:

Images

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Gail I. Winson, "Researching the Laws of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: From Lively Experiment to Statehood" pg. 19–22
  2. 1 2 RICHMAN, I.B. (1905). RHODE ISLAND. p. 191. Retrieved 2015-09-11.
  3. ↑ Warren, Charles. History of the Harvard Law School and of Early Legal Conditions in America. New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1908. Three volumes, pg. 66
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