Now that Governor Dan McKee has delivered his State of the State address and will unveil his proposed budget today, he’ll soon confront his next big political decision in a reelection year that will be chock full of them: Judicial appointments.
The Rhode Island Judicial Nominating Commission is meeting at 5 p.m. to interview three candidates to be presiding justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court, and they all have plenty of political juice.
The candidates vying to replace retired Presiding Justice Alice Gibney are Justice R. David Cruise, Justice Richard A. Licht, and Justice Joseph A. Montalbano.
Cruise is a Cumberland guy who was appointed by former governor Gina Raimondo but sworn in by McKee (he’s also McKee’s second cousin). Licht, a former lieutenant governor, and Montalbano, a former Senate president, were appointed to judgeships by former governor Lincoln Chafee.
The buzz around the State House is that Montalbano is the favorite for the job, but the commission will forward its recommendation to McKee. Once McKee makes his pick, the Rhode Island Senate will hold a confirmation hearing.
The Providence Journal’s Katie Mulvaney has a great breakdown of what the presiding justice does.
McKee has several other significant openings to fill in the judiciary, including for a District Court judgeship that was vacated when Melissa R. DuBose was promoted to a US District Court judgeship last year.
The favorite for DuBose’s spot has long been former Senate majority leader Michael McCaffrey, and Senate President Val Lawson has already said she supports the appointment (advocates have criticized McCaffrey’s record in the Senate, which included opposing same-sex marriage and abortion rights).
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
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