Rhode Island attorney sues Supreme Court

December 28, 2011

Providence, Rhode Island: Attorney Keven A. McKenna has filed a federal lawsuit against members of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, claiming that they disrespected his First Amendment rights. The lawsuit resulted from an investigation that the Supreme Court had made into McKenna's law practice.

The animosity between McKenna and the Supreme Court goes back to 2004, when he began criticizing the court for failing to adhere to a Separation of Powers amendment passed by voters that year. He is now arguing that the court is retaliating by using the investigation to make his practice look bad. Previously, in January, he was in a heated hearing with the Supreme Court justices about whether or not he was illegally operating his law practice under two different names.

The lawsuit was originally assigned to the Hon. Mary Lisi, Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. However, McKenna asked for a new judge due to Lisi's former ties to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.