Rhode Island Supreme Court justice vacancy (June 2020)

Rhode Island Supreme Court
Indeglia vacancy
Date: June 30, 2020
Status: Seat filled
Nomination
Nominee: Erin Lynch Prata
Date: December 8, 2020

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D) nominated Erin Lynch Prata to the Rhode Island Supreme Court on December 8, 2020. The Rhode Island General Assembly confirmed the nomination after votes from the state House on December 16 and the state Senate on December 19, 2020. Lynch Prata succeeded Justice Gilbert Indeglia, who retired on June 30, 2020. She was Gov. Raimondo's first nominee to the five-member supreme court.

At the time of the appointment, supreme court justices were selected by the governor with help from a nominating commission and approval from the legislature.

Media coverage of the appointment process primarily focused on interpretations of Rhode Island's law prohibiting legislators from applying for a state job for one year after serving in the General Assembly. The law came into question after Lynch Prata, a Democratic state senator representing District 31, announced she would not seek re-election and applied for the open supreme court seat.

Coverage also focused on diversity. State Sen. Harold Metts (D) and state Rep. Joseph Almeida (D) both called for a person from a minority group to be named on the court. On Twitter, Gov. Raimondo announced that the nomination of Erin Lynch Prata and Melissa Long to the Rhode Island Supreme Court could result in the court being "majority-female for the first time." The governor also wrote that Long was the "first person of color nominated to serve" on the state supreme court.

Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Rhode Island Supreme Court vacancy:

• An overview of the appointee.
• A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
• A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
• An overview of the selection process.
• Excerpts from media coverage of the nomination process.
• An overview of the court following the vacancy.
• An overview of the justice who left office.
• A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2020.

The appointee

See also: Erin Lynch Prata

When she was nominated to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, Erin Lynch Prata was a Democratic member of the Rhode Island State Senate, representing District 31. She assumed office in 2009 and did not run for re-election in 2020, choosing to apply for the position on the state supreme court instead. As of 2020, she was the chair of the state Senate judiciary committee.

Lynch Prata earned her B.A. in history from Boston College and her J.D. from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. Her professional experience included working as an attorney for Lynch, Bernard & Lynch.

Appointee candidates and nominations

Finalists

The Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission recommended five finalists to Gov. Raimondo.

• Superior Court Judge Melissa Long
• Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Montalbano
• Superior Court Judge Kristin E. Rogers
• Attorney John E. Roberts, a partner in the Proskauer Rose law firm
• Rhode Island State Sen. Judiciary Chairwoman Erin Lynch Prata

Applicants

The Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission interviewed nine applicants for the state supreme court position.

• Superior Court Judge Melissa Long
• Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Montalbano
• Superior Court Judge Kristin E. Rogers
• Family Court Judge Laureen D’Ambra
• Former Providence City Councilman Samuel Zurier
• Assistant Attorney General Jeanine McConaghy
• Department of Business Regulation Associate Director Pamela Toro
• Attorney John E. Roberts, a partner in the Proskauer Rose law firm
• Rhode Island State Sen. Judiciary Chairwoman Erin Lynch Prata

The selection process

See also: Judicial selection in Rhode Island

At the time of the vacancy, state court judges in Rhode Island were chosen using the assisted appointment method. The five justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court were appointed by the governor with help from the Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission. Supreme court nominees had to be approved by a majority vote of both the state House and the state Senate.

Rhode Island was one of only three states where judges served lifetime terms and of those states, it was the only one without a mandatory retirement age.

Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission

See also: Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission

At the time of the appointment, the Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission oversaw the selection of all judges in Rhode Island. When a vacancy occurred on the state supreme court, the commission called for applications, interviewed candidates it deemed qualified, and conducted background checks. The commission would submit a list of three to five names to the governor, who would nominate one candidate to be the next supreme court justice. The candidate had to be confirmed by the Rhode Island House of Representatives and the Rhode Island State Senate.

The commission had nine members, four of whom had to be attorneys. Commissioners were appointed by the governor. Five members were selected with input from the speaker of the House, the state Senate president, and the minority leaders of the state legislature. The remaining four were selected solely by the governor.

Commissioners served staggered four-year terms. They could not serve in any other public office, nor could they be appointed to a judicial vacancy while serving on the commission.

Media coverage

This section includes excerpts from articles about the appointment process. Coverage of the process primarily focused on (1) Rhode Island's law (RI ST § 36-14-5) prohibiting legislators from applying for a state job for one year after serving in the General Assembly and (2) diversity on the court.

Eligibility of Erin Lynch Prata

• Click here for media excerpts about Erin Lynch Prata's eligibility.

  • Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal (August 24, 2020): "When Lynch Prata announced that she wouldn’t seek reelection but instead hoped to be named to the Supreme Court, Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio expressed his support.

  'I appreciate how fortunate I have been to have her as a member of the Senate’s leadership team, and I know she would make a similarly invaluable contribution on the bench. Should she win the recommendation of the Judicial Nominating Commission and the Governor, our state would be fortunate to have a jurist of such exceptional ability and character,' he said in a statement at that time.

  In letters of recommendation to the commission, lawyers, judges and former clients praise Lynch Prata as a fierce but fair Family Court advocate who exhibits emotional intelligence, kindness, and legal knowledge and skill.

  Those lending their support to Lynch Prata include Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter; Family Court Judges Sandra A. Lanni and Richard A. Merola and Magistrate Alberto Aponte Cardona Sr.; former Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed; and lawyer Mark S. Mandell.

  'Erin Lynch would be an excellent Supreme Court Justice. She has a keen legal mind and a strong work ethic. Family Court practice uniquely prepares an individual for the court as practice includes a broad range of legal issues including, but not limited to, tax laws, real estate laws as well as family law,' Paiva Weed wrote."

  • State Sen. James Sheehan (D-District 36), The Westerly Sun (June 11, 2020): "To be fair to Sen. Lynch Prata, her qualities and qualifications for the Supreme Court are not in dispute here. However, the senator’s claim that she is excepted from the revolving door is. Specifically, she claims that since the Rhode Island Supreme Court is cited in the Rhode Island Constitution, that post must be considered a constitutional office. This would represent only one of two criteria that would qualify Sen. Lynch Prata, an elected official, for an exception under RIGL 36-14-5 (N)(03). However, the second criterion, “being elected,” cannot be met since justices are no longer elected. Since 1994, justices of the Supreme Court have been nominated by the Judicial Nominating Commission, appointed by the governor, and separately confirmed by the Senate and House of Representatives. Further, Sen. Lynch Prata’s claim that she qualifies for the exception under the revolving-door law does not appear to be supported by any known legislative intent, history or court opinion.

  If the revolving-door laws are allowed to be breached, coveted seats on the Supreme Court again will be targeted as objects of political horse-trading and backroom deals by Smith Hill insiders. For all of those wishing to someday serve on the Supreme Court, advantage surely will go to the well-connected as opposed to those most deserving of the honor. Inevitably, this will undermine the respect for, and credibility of, the Supreme Court itself. Given the significant reach and impact of the high court’s decisions on our basic liberties and general social order, this prospect should make every Rhode Islander shudder!"

  • Katherine Gregg, Providence Journal (June 2, 2020): "By a 5-2 vote, the Rhode Island Ethics Commission on Tuesday ignored its own staff advice and opened the door for a powerful state senator, Erin Lynch Prata, to seek a seat on the state Supreme Court.

  The “revolving door” ban requires a year out of office before a legislator can take a state job, including a judgeship.

  If the Rhode Island Ethics Commission had heeded a staff opinion, it would have agreed the state’s “revolving door” ban prohibited Lynch Prata, the chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, from even applying for the opening."

  • Steven Frias, Cranston Herald (May 27, 2020): "Lynch Prata ignores the law’s wording and the history surrounding it. Her appointment would represent a partial return to the scandalous judicial selection politics of an earlier era. ...

  This is not about preventing Lynch Prata from ever becoming a judge. This is not about the qualities or qualifications of Lynch Prata to be a judge. This is about requiring all legislators to follow an ethical requirement – the revolving door ban. If Lynch Prata is permitted to seek and be appointed to the Supreme Court, legislators who are more powerful and less principled than her, more questionable and less qualified than her will seek a seat on the Supreme Court in the future. ...

  Furthermore, once the law is interpreted to permit sitting legislators to seek a Supreme Court appointment, undoubtedly other legislators will seek to extend that interpretation to other courts. The more often the revolving door swings open for legislators, the more likely the trading of votes for judgeships will creep back into the legislature.

  Rhode Island cannot move forward by going backwards on ethics. The ambitions of one State House politician should not be allowed to undo the accomplishments of a generation of reformers."

  • Editorial, Providence Journal (April 29, 2020): "We have been wary in the past of state officials jumping into other positions in government without waiting the requisite one year to do so. ...

  This is different because the Supreme Court is treated differently. The state ethics code spells out: 'Nothing contained herein shall prohibit a state elected official from seeking or being elected for any other constitutional office.' A seat on the Supreme Court is a constitutional office.

  Nevertheless, it is commendable that Senator Lynch Prata is seeking a formal ruling from the Ethics Commission on this point.

  She would appear to be a strong contender for the lifetime position. Now 44, she would bring a more youthful perspective to a court of four men and one woman whose members, at present, are 69, 71, 73, 78 and 80."

  • Dan McGowan, Boston Globe (April 28, 2020): "[Erin Lynch Prata] is seeking an advisory opinion from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission about whether a 'revolving door' provision in the code of ethics prohibits her from applying for the job for one year after she leaves the legislature. That provision says that elected state officials and legislators can’t go to work for state agencies, but can seek election to any other constitutional office or 'be appointed to a senior policy-making position on a general officer’s or general assembly’s staff, or appointment by the governor as a department director.' It doesn’t mention judgeships.

  Lynch Prata argues that Supreme Court positions are 'constitutional offices,' and that she is free to apply without having to wait a year. 'I’ve always tried to be as open and transparent as possible,' she said in a brief telephone interview Tuesday. 'The law is clear. If I didn’t think this was an appropriate thing to do, I wouldn’t be doing it.'"

Diversity on the court

• Click here for media excerpts about diversity on the court.

  • Geoff Schoos, GoLocalProv (September 8, 2020): "Not that they need it, but I lend my support to Senator Sheehan’s and Representative Batista’s and Williams’ call for the selection of a person of color to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. ... Diversifying the court system, especially at its highest level, would send a signal to those often ignored by the broader society that they too count. ...

  My second reason for advocating diversifying the courts is even more important than the first, and that is the power of the judiciary to affect change in our society. As I have written, I have seen firsthand the power of the judiciary to advocate change, and its failure to do so. ...

  The present structure took years to develop and will take years to reform. Change comes hard. But real diversity in the judiciary would be a good first step on that road to change."

  • GoLocalProv News Team, GoLocalProv (June 24, 2020): State Sen. James Sheehan (D-District 36) encouraged colleagues in the state Senate and House to call on the governor to appoint a person of color.

  • Click here to read Sheehan's letter to lawmakers.
    
    

    “

    Dear Fellow Lawmaker: We all swore an oath to support our Rhode Island Constitution. Article III, Section 7 requires public officials adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct. The Ethics Commission’s duty is to investigate and enforce violations of the state code of ethics including conflicts of interest and use of position for personal gain or advantage. On June 2, the Ethics Commission, in my view, failed in its duty when it rejected its own in-house counsel’s advice which clearly held that a sitting legislator could not lawfully seek or be appointed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. In reaction to the corrupt practice of elected officials using their positions to snag cushy state jobs and judgeships for themselves, family or political allies, the state enacted so-called “revolving door” laws and rules requiring elected officials to wait one year before seeking or accepting state employment. While there are limited exceptions, I, along with in-house counsel and others, am convinced that the code of ethics prohibits sitting legislators from seeking and being appointed to the Supreme Court. I am not writing to dispute the qualities or qualifications of Senator Erin Lynch Prata, an admired and respected colleague. Rather, I am raising a red flag: if the revolving door law is reopened for business, seats on the Supreme Court will become objects of robust political desire and backroom deals by Smith Hill insiders. For all of those wishing to someday serve on the Supreme Court, advantage surely will go to the well-connected as opposed to those most meriting the honor. Inevitably, this will undermine the respect for the high court’s decisions as well as the credibility of the Supreme Court itself. Given the significant reach and impact of the high court’s decisions on our basic liberties and general social order, this prospect should make every Rhode Islander shudder (See: Journal Commentary)! I have asked Governor Gina Raimondo to uphold the letter and spirit of the ethics code by not appointing, if nominated, Senator Erin Lynch Prata to the Supreme Court at this time. Furthermore, if the Judicial Nominating Commission nominates a person of color, the governor should strongly consider appointing him or her to what is now an all-white bench. This appointment would be a great symbolic and substantive act which would serve as a concrete down payment on moving RI down the [long] road toward social equality (See: GoLocalProv reprint of my letter to Governor Raimondo). I thank you for your time. I would ask you to join me in urging the governor to act on principle and uphold the law and answer the calls for social justice by appointing our very first person of color to the RI Supreme Court! Sincerely, Senator James C. Sheehan

    ”

  • State Rep. Joseph Almeida (D-District 12), GoLocalProv (June 11, 2020): "With everything going on today, it is a moral imperative Governor Gina Raimondo name an African American to serve on the Rhode Island Supreme Court. This is something that would go a long way to giving a voice to our minority sisters and brothers.

  At the moment, the Rhode Island Supreme Court is comprised of all white justices with Justice Gilbert Indeglia retiring in January. With this retirement, there will be one vacancy to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and this vacancy should be filled by a minority especially an African American.

  Our courts should be a melting pot of diversity yet we have never had an African American Supreme Court judge. This is something that Ms. Raimondo (whom I supported over the years) needs to rectify. Rhode Island’s minority community needs fair representation on Rhode Island’s highest court, and this is one way to ensure it."

  • Editorial, GoLocalProv (May 4, 2020): "On Friday, State Senator Harold Metts called for a minority to be named to the court. In his letter to Governor Gina Raimondo Metts wrote, 'More than making history, Rhode Island needs to do the right thing. Now is the time to correct this injustice and I urge you to appoint a person of color to this vacant Supreme Court judgeship.' Too often, there is a substantial disconnect between white Rhode Island and the minority community. ... Desegregating the Supreme Court is an important step - and it is long overdue."

  • Ian Donnis, The Public's Radio (April 28, 2020): "The Brennan Center at New York University recently noted that the Rhode Island Supreme Court has never had a justice of color, and has not had a woman appointed in more than 20 years. The only woman on the panel, Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg, was appointed in 1997.

  Asked by The Public’s Radio whether she will commit to nominating a person of color, Gov. Gina Raimondo said she would not, although she said she has a strong record of promoting a more diverse judiciary."

Other issues

• Click here for media excerpts about other issues.

  • Edward Fitzpatrick, The Boston Globe (July 2, 2020): "Rhode Island does not elect judges, as many states do. So these candidates must appeal first to the Judicial Nominating Commission, which will pick three to five finalists. They then must try to win over Governor Gina M. Raimondo, who will select her nominee from that list. And finally, the nominee must win confirmation from both the Senate and the House.

  With those audiences in mind, advocates are already making the case for their candidates. ...

  But lobbying for the $189,424-a-year job will only grow more intense as the process unfolds in the months ahead.

  Some of the advocacy will be plainly visible. The Judicial Nominating Commission will interview candidates in public, and two supporters of each candidate will speak at public hearings. Some of it will be less evident, as letters of reference and phone calls will come in from lawyers, judges, business owners, and clergy members extolling the virtues of the candidates.

  'Without a vacancy for a decade, there is pent-up ambition,” Common Cause Rhode Island executive director John M. Marion said. 'Combine that with a high-profile campaign by Senate leadership for one of their own, plus the prospect of the first person of color in history on the high court, and we are going to see unprecedented public pressure for this vacancy.'

  While the outcome would be closely watched at any time, it is attracting added attention amid a national reckoning over race following George Floyd’s death in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

  Rhode Island is one of 12 states that has never had a person of color on its highest court, and three of those states — Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine — now have vacancies on their top courts, according to the Brennan Center for Justice."

  • Katie Mulvaney, Providence Journal (January 18, 2020): "Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Gilbert V. Indeglia’s retirement, planned for June 30, will spur movement in a court that’s seen none over the last decade. And there promises to be more changes ahead with the aging of the judges on the state’s highest court. ... 'This is the beginning of what is likely to be a dramatic change on the court,' Michael Yelnosky, dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law and an avid court-watcher, said this week. 'Given the age of these folks, I would expect to have a significant amount of turnover.'"

Makeup of the court

See also: Rhode Island Supreme Court

Justices

Following Indeglia's retirement, the Rhode Island Supreme Court included the following members:

■ Francis Flaherty		Appointed by Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) in 2003
■ Maureen McKenna Goldberg		Appointed by Gov. Lincoln Almond (R) in 1997
■ William Robinson		Appointed by Gov. Carcieri in 2004
■ Paul Suttell		Appointed by Gov. Carcieri in 2003

Justice Flaherty retired on December 31, 2020. Click here for more information about his retirement.

About the court

Founded in 1747, the Rhode Island Supreme Court is the state's court of last resort and has five judgeships. The current chief of the court is Paul Suttell.

As of August 2021, three judges on the court were appointed by a Republican governor and two were appointed by a Democratic governor.

The Rhode Island Supreme Court meets on the seventh floor of the Licht Judicial Complex in Providence, Rhode Island. The court hears oral arguments the first week of every month besides the summer months.

In Rhode Island, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.

About Justice Indeglia

See also: Gilbert V. Indeglia

Indeglia joined the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 2010. He was nominated to the court by Gov. Donald Carcieri (R) in March 2010 and officially took the bench in April.

Below is a brief timeline of Indeglia's career before joining the state supreme court:

• 2000-2010: Judge, Rhode Island Superior Court
• 1989-2000: Judge, Rhode Island District Court
• 1985-1991: Republican member, Rhode Island House of Representatives
• 1977-1984: Town solicitor and town council president, South Kingstown

Indeglia received his B.A. from Boston College in 1963 and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1966.

Political ideology

See also: Political ideology of State Supreme Court Justices

In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.

Indeglia received a campaign finance score of -0.39, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was less liberal than the average score of -0.50 that justices received in Rhode Island.

The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.

Other state supreme court appointments in 2020

See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2020

The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2020. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.

Click here for vacancies that opened in 2021.

2020 judicial vacancies filled by appointment
Court	Date of Vacancy	Justice	Reason	Date Vacancy Filled	Successor
Washington Supreme Court	January 5, 2020	Mary Fairhurst	Retirement	December 4, 2019	Raquel Montoya-Lewis
Maine Supreme Judicial Court	January 2020	Donald Alexander	Retirement	January 6, 2020	Andrew Horton
Illinois Supreme Court	February 2020	Robert Thomas	Retirement	March 1, 2020	Michael J. Burke
Georgia Supreme Court	March 1, 2020	Robert Benham	Retirement	March 27, 2020	Carla W. McMillian
Iowa Supreme Court	March 13, 2020	David Wiggins	Retirement	April 3, 2020	Matthew McDermott
Washington Supreme Court	March 2020	Charles Wiggins	Retirement	April 13, 2020	G. Helen Whitener
Maine Supreme Judicial Court	April 14, 2020	Leigh Saufley	Retirement	May 10, 2021	Valerie Stanfill
Connecticut Supreme Court	May 27, 2020	Richard Palmer	Retirement	July 20, 2020	Christine E. Keller
Alaska Supreme Court	June 1, 2020	Craig Stowers	Retirement	July 1, 2020	Dario Borghesan
Hawaii Supreme Court	June 30, 2020	Richard W. Pollack	Retirement	November 19, 2020	Todd Eddins
Rhode Island Supreme Court	June 30, 2020	Gilbert Indeglia	Retirement	December 8, 2020	Erin Lynch Prata
Minnesota Supreme Court	July 31, 2020	David Lillehaug	Retirement	May 15, 2020	Gordon Moore
California Supreme Court	August 31, 2020	Ming Chin	Retirement	November 10, 2020	Martin Jenkins
New Jersey Supreme Court	August 31, 2020	Walter F. Timpone	Retirement	June 5, 2020	Fabiana Pierre-Louis
Texas Supreme Court	August 31, 2020	Paul Green	Retirement	October 15, 2020	Rebecca Huddle
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court	September 14, 2020	Ralph D. Gants	Death	November 18, 2020	Kimberly S. Budd
Kansas Supreme Court	September 18, 2020	Carol Beier	Retirement	November 30, 2020	Melissa Standridge
Georgia Supreme Court	November 18, 2020	Keith Blackwell	Retirement	December 1, 2020	Shawn Ellen LaGrua
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court	December 1, 2020	Barbara Lenk	Retirement	November 25, 2020	Dalila Wendlandt
New Mexico Supreme Court	December 1, 2020	Judith Nakamura	Retirement	December 19, 2020	Julie Vargas
Illinois Supreme Court	December 7, 2020	Thomas Kilbride	Was not retained	December 8, 2020	Robert Carter
Rhode Island Supreme Court	December 31, 2020	Francis Flaherty	Retirement	December 8, 2020	Melissa Long
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals	December 31, 2020	Michael Keasler	Retirement	December 21, 2020	Jesse McClure

See also

Rhode Island	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Rhode Island Rhode Island Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Rhode Island	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

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• Rhode Island Supreme Court
• Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission

Footnotes

Rhode Island courts

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Federal courts:

First Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Rhode Island • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Rhode Island

State courts:

Rhode Island Supreme Court • Rhode Island Superior Court • Rhode Island District Court • Rhode Island Family Court • Rhode Island Workers' Compensation Court • Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal

State resources:

Courts in Rhode Island • Rhode Island judicial elections • Judicial selection in Rhode Island