Quahogs. Cabinets. General refusal to use car blinkers. Obey Andre the Giant stickers in the ’90s. There are many unique things about Rhode Island. Here’s one more: Rhode Island is the only State in the Union with life tenure for…
Category: This Week at the Court
Running Tally of State and Federal Court Orders Affecting Rhody Related to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic
The state and federal courts that have jurisdiction in Rhode Island have issued a series of administrative orders to address court operations during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The list below attempts to catalog all state and federal court orders that…
Judge Smith Unexpectedly Passes The Chief Judgeship to Judge McConnell. Is A New Snow Day Policy In The Offing?
To the surprise of many, Chief Judge Smith announced on October 18 at the U.S. District Court 2019 Conference that he is passing the Chief Judgeship to Judge McConnell effective December 1, 2019, for the Rhode Island federal district court.…
Senate Finally Confirms Judge McElroy. Next Stop: FJC’s Self-Titled “Baby Judges School.”
Congratulations to Mary McElroy, who finally got confirmed as a federal district judge to the District of Rhode Island, bringing the court back to full strength with three active district judges and two magistrate judges. Originally nominated in 2015, the…
Proposed Federal CivPro Jurisdiction Rule Would Peel Back The Curtain on Those Pesky LLCs
Jurisdiction means, literally, the power to speak the law. In practical terms, it refers to the power of a court to issue a ruling that binds a natural person, entity, or thing (such as personal property or real estate). While…
In The First Pass Under The New Bar Exam Policy, 17 Attorneys Will Be Admitted in Rhode Island Through The Uniform Bar Exam
Earlier this week, the Rhode Island Supreme Court announced that seventeen attorneys are now eligible for the Rhode Island bar by petitioning for admission through the Uniform Bar Exam. Under the Court’s new bar exam policy, and combining the list…
Federal Criminal Jury Trial Begins Today in Courtroom 3 at 9 a.m.
In 2017, juries decided only three federal criminal cases in the United States District Court in Rhode Island. The federal courthouse is full of courtrooms, but rarely are those courtrooms full with juries. Today, Wednesday, August 8, a federal criminal…
Highlights from the Last Federal Bench/Bar Committee Meeting of the Year
One of the most interesting and effective committees of the Rhode Island Bar Association is the Federal Bench/Bar Committee, which meets at the federal courthouse three or four times a year. Chaired by the always prepared Pat Rocha, the meeting is…
Someone Has a Case of the Mondays: Closing Arguments in Federal Civil Rights Trial are Monday, March 19
Update as of March 19 at 9 a.m.: there are a few more witnesses this morning. Closing arguments are likely to start around 10:15 to 10:30 a.m. (March 19, Courtroom 1 of federal courthouse). Shelton v. Wozny, a federal civil…
Opening Statements in Federal Civil Rights Jury Trial are Monday, March 12
On Monday, March 12, at 9:30 a.m., the federal jury trial in Shelton v. Wozny, civil action number 14-cv-313, will begin in Courtroom 1. U.S. District Judge McConnell will preside. After some quick preliminaries, it is likely the jury will be…