Justice Paul Suttell nominated to succeed Frank Williams

By JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — Gov. Donald Carcieri has tapped Justice Paul Suttell, a six-year veteran of the RI Supreme Court, to be the next Chief Justice.

If confirmed by both chambers of the General Assembly, Suttell, 60, would replace Frank Williams, who stepped down as chief justice last December, but has been sitting in on cases while awaiting a new chief.
Suttell would be the state’s 51st chief justice.
“Justice Suttell brings a wealth of judicial and scholarly experience to the position of Chief Justice,” Carcieri said in a written statement released Thursday afternoon.  “He has served the public with the highest honor and distinction, first as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and later as a Family Court Judge and Supreme Court Justice.  He is a dedicated and conscientious jurist, whose understanding of the law and ability to lead will serve him well as Chief Justice.”
In a written statement issued by the court Thursday, Suttell said, “I am humbled by the confidence that the governor has shown in me with his decision, particularly in light of the extraordinary quality of candidates he had to choose from.
“All of the justices on the Supreme Court applied for the job, and we all knew that no matter who received the appointment we would all continue to work together in the collegial manner that has been characteristic of this court.
“This branch of government has been left in good shape by Chief Justice Williams,” Suttell said, “and I look forward to guiding the court through the coming challenges,” he said.
Suttell said he looks forward to the confirmation process, “and I welcome the opportunity to work with the men and women who run the Judiciary day to day.”
In picking Suttell, Carcieri sidesteps a potential controversy over whether current Acting Chief Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg could serve as the head of the high court while her husband, Robert Goldberg, is one of the most influential and high-profile lobbyists at the State House, representing clients on issues that could cause his wife to recuse from cases where their professional lives would overlap. 
Goldberg issued a statement Thursday saying that she had congratulated Suttell, adding, “Rhode Island will be well-served by his appointment.”
The choice of a sitting justice also gives Carcieri the opportunity to select another Supreme Court justice to succeed Suttell before his term as governor expires next year. 
All four of the current justices, Frank Flaherty, William Robinson, Goldberg and Suttell were candidates for the chief’s job. A fifth candidate, U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, withdrew his name from consideration
“All of the candidates for Chief Justice are exemplary jurists, and I extend my continued appreciation and gratitude to each of them for their service to uphold the rule of law and assure justice for the people of Rhode Island,” the governor said.
Before he was elevated to the high court in July 2003, Suttell served as an Associate Justice on the Rhode Island Family Court, from July 1990, and was a state representative from 1983 to 1990.  He began his legal career as a practicing attorney at the law offices of Beals & DiFiore and Crowe, Chester & Adams, and was legal counsel to the Rhode Island House Minority Leader. 
A Little Compton resident, Suttell is a member of the American, Rhode Island and Newport County Bar Associations, as well as a judicial member of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys.
Suttell has served on a number of non-profit boards and associations, including director and past president of the Little Compton Historical Society and Sakonnet Preservation Association, former director for the Rhode Island Lung Association, former member of the Rhode Island Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, as well as serving as moderator, youth group advisor and past chair of the board of deacons and trustees for the United Congregational Church of Little Compton.
A 1971 graduate of Northwestern University, Suttell received his law degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1976.