11.30.2000 00:18
Silverstein out as field for chief justice is narrowed
 Now it is up to Governor Almond to select a nominee from the five remaining judges.
By Jonathan D. Rockoff
Journal Staff Writer
PROVIDENCE - After two rounds of voting, the Judicial Nominating Commission late last night selected five finalists for the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, excluding just one of the six candidates.
Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein is the lone candidate whose name will not be submitted to Governor Almond, who now has 21 days to choose a nominee. Both houses of the state legislature must confirm his choice.
Silverstein, a former managing partner at a large Providence law firm who was highly regarded for his years overseeing the Superior Court's difficult emergency calendar of cases, had left hours before the vote.
The vote was unusual not only because it lasted two rounds but because Silverstein lost on a technicality. He had enough votes to become a finalist, but the least among the six candidates and the commission can send only up to five names to Almond.
The voting followed the longest, most crowded session in the commission's six-year history. First, 45 witnesses testified for nearly five hours before the nine commissioners deliberated 40 minutes in closed session.
The five finalists include two justices of the Supreme Court: Victoria S. Lederberg, who sat with her head bowed during the voting, and Robert G. Flanders Jr., who sat erect with his hands clasped on his lap.
Another finalist, Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah Jr., leaned on a chair in front of him. He remained there motionless for a few moments after Commission Chairman Robert Corrente announced the finalists.
A fourth finalist, Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr., showed little emotion as the votes were cast. The fifth, Superior Court Judge Frank J. Williams, sat beside a supporter who tallied the votes on legal paper.
Usually the nine-member commission, which was established to ensure the merit selection of judges after two chief justices left their posts amid scandal, solicits public comment and votes on separate nights.
But Chairman Corrente said the commission held the two events together in hopes that a new chief justice could immediately take the place of the current chief justice, Joseph R. Weisberger, upon his departure in late February.
In September, Weisberger announced his retirement, prompting many lawyers and judges to consider applying for the top post in the state judiciary, one overseeing a $60-million budget and nearly 700 employees.
In the end, six judges and a lawyer applied for the coveted job. One factor in the limited turnout, lawyers and court officials said, was potential suitors' concern for losing out in the commission's voting.
The lawyer, Philip G. Parsons, quickly dropped out, and the commission interviewed the judges over two days last week at the state Department of Administration, where last night's meeting was held.
To begin the session, the chief judges of the Superior, District and Workers' Compensation Courts testified on behalf of Jeremiah, their colleague leading the Family Court, which he has ministered since 1987.
"Not only is he eminently qualified for the position, but his experience as administrative head of the Family Court for the last 13 years uniquely qualifies him," Superior Court Presiding Justice Joseph F. Rodgers Jr. said.
Jeremiah was also praised for establishing such innovative programs as a Drug Court to steer children into treatment and a Truancy Court, which is designed to get wayward youths to return to school.
The Rev. Anne Grant, former director of the Women's Center of Rhode Island, said Jeremiah issued child-custody decisions that forced battered women to return to violent homes to be with their children.
She also said Jeremiah issues decisions without both parties present.
Lederberg, a former state legislator who was a psychology professor before entering the law, was singled out for her scientific expertise. Supporters also spoke of the possibility of naming a female chief justice.
Anthony Santoro, chancellor of Roger Williams University, urged her nomination. He said: "It is not just because she is a woman. She brings diversity to the judiciary because she is well trained in an area outside the law."
Susan Rittscher, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Providence, touted the intelligence of Flanders, a Harvard-educated lawyer who is chairman of the organization's board, overseeing 10 facilities with 30,000 customers.
"He is absolutely brilliant in the ways he is able to assimilate the information that is necessary to keep our YMCAs moving forward," she said.
Jonathan Houston, who started the nonprofit Justice Assistance with Darigan in 1974 to aid the indigent and minorities, said Darigan would make the courts more accommodating to members of minority groups.
"He understands the consumer," Houston said.
Like Darigan, Williams, an Abraham Lincoln scholar also renowned for his cooking, received a lot of support. Supporters praised his energy, efforts to reduce case backlogs and ability to mediate bitter disputes.
"He had an amazing work ethic. He was working hard all of the time," said Charles Lee, chairman of the board of South County Hospital, of which Williams is a member. Williams led a group that studied the hospital's operations.
Silverstein was managing partner of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder. Bentley Tobin, who practiced law with Silverstein for 35 years, expressed a perception of the judge widely held among the state bar.
"He has earned the respect and admiration of fellow practitioners both in the bar and the judiciary," Tobin said.
During the public comment, the good-government group Common Cause of Rhode Island asked one commissioner, Sharon Burgess, to excuse herself from the voting because she had earlier resigned from the commission.
Chairman Corrente said she would vote to fulfill the commission's mission.
After announcing her resignation, Burgess returned to the commission after talking to Speaker John B. Harwood and a staffer for Senate Majority Leader William V. Irons, who could not replace her in time for the chief justice decision-making.
In the voting, each commissioner could cast five votes. Lederberg and Williams each got nine. Darigan, Flanders and Jeremiah each got seven. Silverstein received six votes.
Commissioners voted twice, coming up with the same results each time. Commission rules require another vote if more than five candidates each get five votes — the number needed to become a finalist. If after the second round more than five candidates get five votes, the commission goes with the top five vote-getters.
DIGITAL EXTRA
Find out more about the candidates for chief justice from their own résumés and previous Journal reports:
http://www.projo.com/news/risupreme/
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