Rhode Island Supreme Court

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Rhode Island Supreme Court
Court information
Justices:   5
Founded:   1747
Judicial selection
Method:   Comm. select., Gov. appt.
Term:   Life terms; no mandated retirement
Active justices

Maureen McKenna Goldberg  •  Francis Flaherty  •  Paul Suttell  •  William Robinson  •  Gilbert V. Indeglia  •  

Former justices

Contents

The Rhode Island Supreme Court, founded in 1747, is the court of last resort for the state of Rhode Island.

Justices

The court consists of a Chief Justice and four Justices. While in other courts, justices are required to retire at a mandated age, the same is not true for the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court hold office for life.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has 5 justices.
JudgeTermAppointed byParty
Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg1990 - presentLincoln C. AlmondRepublican
Justice Francis Flaherty2003 - presentDonald CarcieriRepublican
Chief Justice Paul Suttell1990 - presentDonald CarcieriRepublican
Justice William Robinson2004 - presentDonald CarcieriRepublican
Justice Gilbert V. Indeglia2000 - presentDonald CarcieriRepublican

Chief justice

Paul Suttell is the Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court. He was nominated to this position by Governor Carcieri, approved by the Senate, and sworn in on July 16, 2009. [1]

Jurisdiction

The Rhode Island Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over legal and constitutional questions. Additionally, the court must regulate admission to the state Bar, and determines disciplinary issues as well. [2]

Judicial selection

Selection of Supreme Court justices begins with the Judicial Nominating Commission. The Commission submits three to five names to the Governor of Rhode Island, and upon receiving the names, the Governor selects and appoints one. The appointed justice must then be approved by both the Senate and the House of Representatives. [2]

Qualifications

Removal of justices

Caseloads

Year Cases docketed Cases disposed Cases pending
2010 418 334 543
2009 336 339 480
2008 323 319 495
2007 358 353 492
2006 341 320 527
2005 344 358 442
2004 394 386 477
2003 673 714 475

[3]

Salaries

The Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court earns $167,644 annually, while associate justices earn $152,403, as of January 2010.[4][5]

Notable decisions

History of the court

Rhode Island Supreme and Superior Courthouse in Providence

In 1747, the Rhode Island General Assembly authorized the creation of the Superior Court of Judicature, Court of Assize, and General Gaol Delivery, consisting of one Chief Justice and four Associates, all serving one year terms. 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 British Common Law. Parties, however, could still appeal to the British monarch, English courts or General Assembly.[6] In 1747, the Assembly appointed the first Chief Justice, Gideon Cowell, who was not a lawyer and the second, Joshua Babcock, a Yale educated physician. Stephen Hopkins served as Chief Justice from 1747 to 1755 and was the first trained lawyer to serve in this position.[7] In 1798, the Assembly renamed the Superior Court "The Supreme Judicial Court," and in 1843, "The Supreme Court."

Prominent justices

  • Peleg Arnold, Delegate to the Continental Congress
  • Stephen Hopkins, Signatory of the Declaration of Independence, Governor of Rhode Island
  • David Howell (jurist), Delegate to the Continental Congress, federalist leader, U.S. District Judge
  • William West, 1787-1789, American Revolution general, Deputy Governor, anti-federalist rebellion leader

Notable firsts

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Pawtucket Times "Suttell sworn in as chief justice" July 17, 2009
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Rhode Island Supreme Court
  3. ↑ ‘’Rhode Island Judiciary’’, “Annual Reports”
  4. ↑ The Sunshine Review, "Rhode Island state government salary," August 17, 2011
  5. ↑ The National Center for State Courts, "Judicial Salary Resource Center" as of Jan. 1, 2010
  6. ↑ Rhode Island Judicature Book
  7. ↑ Rhode Island Judicature Book
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