Judge Darigan leaves Rhode Island court

March 15, 2012

Rhode Island: Judge Francis J. Darigan, Jr. has left the Rhode Island Superior Court after 28 years of service there. He retired on Feb. 29, 2012. "I hope the legacy that I leave is that I’ve done the best I can to be objective, to be the kind of person that would be extremely nonjudgmental and compassionate when that’s called for and as temperate as possible," he said.

Darigan graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 1971. He then received his master's degree in public administration from the University of Rhode Island. He worked as a private practice lawyer until January 26, 1984, when he was appointed to the District Court. He was then elevated to the Superior Court on a temporary basis two years later. In 1991, he was formally appointed to that court.

One of Darigan's most well-known cases involved The Station fire in February of 2003. When a nightclub went up in flames, 100 people died and the owners were prosecuted. The trial, heard by Darigan, ended in a plea agreement. Throughout his career, he has sentenced jail time for former Governor Edwin DiPrete, former Superior Court Judge Antonio Almeida, and multiple police officers. He ended his career with the high-profile case of Providence Police Detective Robert DeCarlo, who was charged with the simple assault of a robbery suspect. The case ended in a mistrial due to prosecutorial misconduct, however.

Fellow Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Procaccini said, regarding Darigan, "He ran a very dignified courtroom. You were treated fairly and he was a facilitator as opposed to an obstructing kind of judge. It was always a good experience as a lawyer."