United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

• Court
• Judges

District of Rhode Island First Circuit Chief: Mary Lisi Judges: 3 Posts: 3 Vacancies: 0 Active judges McConnell • Smith Senior Judges Lagueux Magistrate Judges Almond • Hagopian • Lovegreen • Sullivan Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island is a United States district court.

The United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court.

Vacancy warning level

The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island's vacancy warning level is currently set at green. The court currently has no vacancies out of their three posts, constituting 0% of their seats. There are no pending appointments for the district.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of Rhode Island (click for larger map)

The jurisdiction of the District of Rhode Island consists of all the counties in the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the Constitution. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the First Circuit Court of Appeals based in Downtown Boston at the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse.

Cases heard

The District of Rhode Island has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

Case load

Federal Court Case Load Statistics*

Year	Starting case load:	Cases filed:	Total cases:	Cases terminated:	Remaining cases:	Median time(Criminal)**:	Median time(Civil)**:	3 Year Civil cases#:	Vacant posts:##	Trials/Post
2010	2416	1296	3712	807	2905	8.5	11.8	345(13.2%)	12	10
2009	1853	1239	3092	677	2415	8.1	10.6	282(13.1%)	12	10
2008	1035	1387	2422	567	1855	6.5	8.8	288(17.7%)	12	10
2007	1030	723	1753	710	1043	6.7	8.2	264(31.7%)	9.9	14
2006	987	727	1714	685	1029	7.1	8.9	35(4.3%)	0	17

*All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website and reflect the calendar year through September.    **Time in months from filing to completion. #This statistic includes cases which have been appealed in higher courts.    ##This is the total number of months that any all judicial posts had spent vacant that year.

Clerk's office

The Rhode Island has one courthouse. The Clerk's office is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Please consult the chart below for more information:

Address	Phone number	Fax	Email
Federal Building and Courthouse One Exchange Terrace Providence, RI 02903	(401) 752-7200	(401) 752-7247	ContactUs@RID.USCOURTS.GOV

History

Court history

The District of Rhode Island was established by Congress on June 23, 1790 with one post to cover the entire state. Over time 2 additional judicial posts were added for a total of 3 current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of Rhode Island:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
June 23, 1790	1 Stat. 128	1
March 18, 1966	80 Stat. 75	2
July 10, 1984	98 Stat. 333	3

Notable cases

For a searchable list of opinions, please see District of Rhode Island official website and then navigate to Case Information -> Opinions.

• Nightclub fire case  Judge(s):Ronald Lagueux      *GRAY vs. DERDERIAN 1-04CV0312L

Judge Lagueux on January 7, 2010 approved a settlement of $176 million to family members of the victims of a night club fire that killed 100 people in Providence, Rhode Island in 2003. The fire was caused by a pyrotechnics display used in a rock concert. The pyrotechnics hit the soundproof foam which led to a fire resulting in 100 deaths. The settlement ends nearly seven years of litigation in the case in which the club's owners pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges in 2006.

• High School prayer banner  Judge(s):Ronald Lagueux      *AHLQUIST vs. CRANSTON 1-11CV0138L

On January 11, 2012, Judge Lagueux issued his ruling in AHLQUIST vs. CRANSTON, deciding that a prayer banner that hung on the gym wall of a public high school violated the First Amendment. Lagueux ordered that the banner be removed within 10 days, barring an appeal from the school district. Lagueux felt that there was no way to construe the prayer as anything but Christian in nature. He defended this in his opinion, stating "The Prayer concludes with the indisputably religious closing: 'Amen;' a Hebrew word used by Jews, Christians and Muslims to conclude prayers. In between, the Prayer espouses values of honesty, kindness, friendship and sportsmanship. While these goals are commendable, the reliance on God’s intervention as the way to achieve those goals is not consistent with a secular purpose." He also lauded Jessica Ahlquist , the student who brought the suit, stating that she "is clearly an articulate and courageous young woman, who took a brave stand, particularly in the light of the hostile response she has received from the community." The school will determine if it will appeal the decision at an open meeting on February 16. The prayer reads: "Our Heavenly Father, Grant us each day the desire to do our best, To grow mentally and morally as well as physically, To be kind and helpful to our classmates and teachers, To be honest with ourselves as well as with others, Help us to be good sports and smile when we lose as well as when we win, Teach us the value of true friendship, Help us always to conduct ourselves so as to bring credit to Cranston High School West. Amen The author of the prayer has continued to express dismay at the ruling, telling the press, “It’s a shame that some judge with an appointment out of a Cracker Jack box can make a ruling like that."

• Survivor case  Judge(s):William E. Smith      *Hatch v. USA 1:2009-cv-00144

On July 10, 2009, Judge Smith ruled that the first winner from the TV program "Survivor", Richard Hatch, could not leave home confinement early to star in a 10th anniversary edition of the reality show in Samoa. Hatch was convicted by the District of Rhode Island in 2006 on tax evasion on the $1 million he won on the debut season of the reality show. Hatch served three years in federal prison and is serving the final 90 days of his sentence on home confinement in Rhode Island.

• Microsoft piracy case  Judge(s):William E. Smith      *Uniloc USA, Inc., et al v. Microsoft Corp., et al 1:03-cv-00440-S-DLM

On September 28, 2009, Judge Smith vacated a $388 million dollar verdict levied against software giant Microsoft on charges of patent infringement by an anti-piracy software maker. The judge vacated the verdict finding that the jury did not find a legally sufficient basis in reaching the it. Microsoft may appeal the ruling to the First Circuit as this is the second major lawsuit they have faced in 2009 on patent infringement charges. .

Federal courthouse

U.S. Courthouse, Providence

The court meets in what was originally the Providence Post Office, Court House and Custom House, now called the U.S. Federal Building and Courthouse, in Providence, Rhode Island. The building was constructed between 1904-08 in the Beaux Arts style of architecture popular, at the time, for public buildings of similar nature.

The building was originally designed to house a post office, a customs offices, and the federal courts. It now houses only the courts.

Major news

For new stories and other related material see Rhode Island judicial news.

See also

• McConnell confirmed to District of Rhode Island
• United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Official Website
• Bankruptcy court for the District of Rhode Island
• Opinions of the District of Rhode Island
• Contacts for the District of Rhode Island

References

District of Rhode Island First Circuit Chief: Mary Lisi Judges: 3 Posts: 3 Vacancies: 0 Active judges McConnell • Smith Senior Judges Lagueux Magistrate Judges Almond • Hagopian • Lovegreen • Martin Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

Active judges

Article III judges

See: Article III federal judge
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island has 3 posts and 0 vacancy. The current Chief Judge is Mary Lisi. This is a list of the current judges on the court:

Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Preceeded	Bachelors	Law
Chief Judge Mary Lisi	1950	Providence, RI	Clinton	5/9/1994 - Present	2006 - Present	Francis Boyle	Rhode Island U., 1972	Temple U. Law, 1977
Judge William E. Smith	1959	Boise, ID	W. Bush	11/15/2002 - Present		Ronald Lagueux	Georgetown U., 1982	Georgetown U. Law, 1987
Judge John McConnell	1958	Providence, RI	Obama	5/4/2011 - Present		Ernest Torres	Brown, A.B., 1980	Case Western Reserve U. Law, J.D., 1983

Pending appointments

There are no current pending appointments for the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

Senior judges

See: Federal judges on senior status
The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island has 1 judge on senior status currently. This is a list of the current senior judges on the court:

Judge	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Senior	Bachelors	Law
Senior Judge Ronald Lagueux	Reagan	3/4/1986 - 11/30/2001	1992 - 1999	11/30/2001 - Present	Bowdoin College, 1953	Harvard Law, 1956

Magistrate judges

Judge	Active	Bachelors	Law
Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond	9/10/2004-Current	University of Rhode Island (1985)	University of Connecticut School of Law (1988)
Magistrate Judge Robert Lovegreen	1993-Current	Brown University (1960)	University of Virginia Law School (1963)
Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan	10/01/2012 - Present	Wellesley College, B.A., 1973	Georgetown U. Law, J.D., 1978

Past judges

Former Chief judges

Judge	Term
Raymond Pettine	1971 - 1982
Edward Day	1966 - 1971
Francis Boyle	1982 - 1992
Ernest Torres	1999 - 2006
Ronald Lagueux	1992 - 1999

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge in one of the federal courts, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as Chief Judge. A vacancy in the office of Chief Judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The Chief Judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a Chief Judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

These rules for Chief Judges in the federal judiciary have been in effect since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948. Until August 6, 1959, the position was filled in each federal court by the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as Chief Judge. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

Former judges

1. Ernest Torres
2. Bruce Marshall Selya
3. Benjamin Bourne
4. Henry Marchant
5. David Leonard Barnes
6. David Howell
7. John Pitman
8. Jonathan Russell Bullock
9. John Power Knowles
10. LeBaron Bradford Colt
11. George Moulton Carpenter
12. Arthur Lewis Brown
13. Ira Lloyd Letts
14. John Christopher Mahoney
15. Francis Boyle
16. Edward Day
17. John Patrick Hartigan
18. Edward Leahy
19. Raymond Pettine

Seat 1	Seat 2	Seat 3
Judge Term Leahy 1/3/1951 - 7/22/1953 Hartigan 1940 - 1951 Day 2/9/1954 - 3/19/1976 Boyle 7/1/1977 - 12/1/1992 Mahoney 1935-1940 Letts 1/4/1928 - 6/24/1935 Brown 12/15/1896 - 6/30/1927 Carpenter 12/18/1884 - 7/31/1896 Colt 1881 - 1884 Knowles 1/24/1870 - 3/21/1881 Bullock 2/11/1865 - 9/15/1869 Pitman 1/3/1825 - 11/17/1864 Howell 11/17/1812 - 7/30/1824 Barnes 1/26/1802 - 11/3/1812 Marchant 7/3/1790 - 8/30/1796 Bourne 12/22/1796 - 2/20/1801 Lisi 5/9/1994 - Present	Judge Term McConnell 5/4/2011 - Present Pettine 6/29/1956 - 7/6/1982 Selya 1982-1986 Torres 11/6/1987 - 12/1/2006	Judge Term Smith 11/15/2002 - Present Lagueux 3/4/1986 - 11/30/2001