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1.5.2001 00:05
Williams Almond's pick for high court
 A five-year veteran of the Superior Court bench, the 60-year-old Richmond resident plans to make the state's court system more accessible to the public.
By KATHERINE GREGG
Journal State House Bureau
PROVIDENCE
-- Governor Almond yesterday nominated Frank J. Williams, a legal scholar, nationally recognized expert on Abraham Lincoln and Superior Court judge for the last five years, to be the new chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
"With such a highly qualified group of individuals, this was a very difficult decision," the governor told a late afternoon news conference. But Williams won him over, he said, with "his passion . . . his energy and his vision."
In his turn, Williams pledged: "There will be change."
He talked about "kiosks" in the lobbies of each courthouse -- and multi-lingual telephone operators -- to help non-English speaking visitors find their way around.
He talked about the electronic filing of court documents; Spanish classes for judges, and field trips for them "into the minority communities to let [those who live there] know how the judicial system of this country and this state work."
And, "What about the poor wage earner who must leave the job for half a day to come to court?" the nominee mused aloud. "Shouldn't there be an evening session somewhere, an administrative assist so that person doesn't lose any time from work?"
"I mean, these are no-brainers to me," said Williams, who was described by Almond and several of his colleagues on the bench yesterday as "highly intelligent," "decent" and "compassionate."
"I am not sure the public is aware of just how good a judiciary we have. And I believe firmly that I could match our judges, our lawyers and our court staff against any in the country," Williams said. But, "now having said that, can we not do better? Should we not do better as a branch of government?"
"I think we all know the answer to that question: We can all do better," Williams told the packed gathering of lawyers, legislators, judges and family who turned out for Almond's announcement of his nominee to succeed Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger when he retires Feb. 24.
There are still hurdles. To win the $137,040-a-year job, Williams will need the approval of both the House and the Senate after public hearings and votes by the Judiciary Committees in both chambers.
Key House leaders were unavailable for comment yesterday, but new Senate Majority Leader William Irons and new Senate Judiciary Chairman Joseph Montalbano anticipated no problem.
Montalbano described Williams as "a man of immense intellect," a "consensus-builder"and someone concerned about how people and minorities, in particular, view the justice system.
"I think he is a very decent and fine person, highly regarded," echoed Irons. "From my knowledge of Frank, I would think that he would be received well in the Senate."
H. Philip West, director of the citizens' activist group Common Cause, said he was "particularly pleased with his comments about being a 'people's justice' because so often the courts are removed and remote and most judges don't even see that. They don't feel it."
Weisberger was already in his 70s and on the brink of retirement as a Supreme Court judge when a scandal in the courts forced the second chief justice in a row, Thomas Fay, to resign in 1993.
The General Assembly elevated Weisberger from "acting" to chief justice a year-and-a-half later. By that time, "the cloud of controversy that had covered our state's highest court was lifting," Almond recalled yesterday. "And that was clearly due to Chief Justice Weisberger's outstanding leadership."
"We owe him a great debt of gratitude," said Almond. "We have made progress in bringing reform to our judicial system. But we have more work to do . . . whether it's improving public confidence in our courts or . . . bringing advanced technology to the system."
For this job, he chose Williams over the four other finalists selected by the state's Judicial Nominating Commission: Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, Supreme Court Justices Robert G. Flanders Jr. and Victoria S. Lederberg and Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan.
Williams and Jeremiah were considered favorites for the post because of their longstanding Republican ties. Williams's father was very active in the state Republican party.
Flanders could have had a hard time winning confirmation after dissenting from two recent court decisions that affirmed the General Assembly's strong powers in state government.
House Speaker John B. Harwood was said to favor Jeremiah. But Jeremiah, whose court handles some of the system's most bitter disputes, was hurt by complaints. The Journal reported on his controversial style.
In the end, Almond chose Williams: a resident of Richmond, a former lawyer-lobbyist, history buff and nationally recognized expert on the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
Before he became a judge, Williams lobbied the General Assembly for a number of diverse business interests, including the Rhode Island Retail Federation and a group of credit-reporting agencies and mortgage bankers.
His dual roles as special counsel to the Providence Retirement Board and defense lawyer for Providence Mayor Vincent A. Cianci Jr., in an ethics case, placed him at the center of a 1994 flap. But the controversy evaporated after the state Ethics Commission dismissed the case against Cianci.
In November 1995, Almond nominated Williams to the seat on the Superior Court bench that had been opened by the elevation of John P. Bourcier to the Supreme Court.
On that first journey through the Senate confirmation process, Williams pledged to emulate his hero Abraham Lincoln by being "politic without being unprincipled, patient without being resigned, flexible without being opportunistic, tough-minded without being brutal, determined without being fanatical, religious without being dogmatic, tender without being sentimental and devoted to man without worshipping him."
In 1998, he provided The Journal -- and the public -- an unusually candid view over several months of the workings of his court -- and what he was thinking -- when he presided over the highly publicized trials of the three men accused of raping a 21-year-old woman on the floor of a Block Island tavern in October 1996.
It was his hope, he explained at the time, that by inviting this unusually close look at how the system works, he would help restore the public's flagging faith in the judiciary. (For the same reason,, he voluntarily made public yesterday the "personal data questionnaire" he was required to submit as a candidate for the Supreme Court opening.)
He is Italian-American. His paternal grandfather changed the family name from Guglielmo to avoid discrimination. He grew up in Cranston, where his father, brother and uncle still operate Forest Hills Nurseries. He clerked for Atty. Gen. Herbert F. DeSimone.
His Superior Court office is a shrine to Abraham Lincoln, with tables topped with busts of the ex-president, shelves lined with books about him and walls bedecked with Lincoln portraits. He has been known to rub the forehead of a bronze bust of the martyred president in his courtroom -- "just to connect."
Yesterday, he described himself as "a judicial moderate. I don't consider myself an activist. I believe you have to follow the law as given and that it is the duty of the legislature to change it. I defer to their prerogative."
But, "my overall judicial philosophy is to make justice accessible to all of the people."
In an interview last month, Williams outlined what his goals would be if appointed chief justice. "I figure I have ten good years, one good war in me, and I feel I could make a difference," he said.
The judge gave a five-point plan for leading the courts: improving security, upgrading the facilities, adding new technology, making the courts more accessible to the public and exercising judicial restraint.
"I think I would like to be remembered as the people's judge," he said yesterday.
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