Digital Bulletin

04:35 PM EST on Friday, March 17, 2006

BY STEVE PEOPLES
projo.com staff writer

PROVIDENCE -- U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee has selected former state Supreme Court justice Robert G. Flanders Jr. to fill a vacancy on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

At a press conference this afternoon at Chafee's downtown office, the Republican senator said part of the reason he liked Flanders as Rhode Island's representative on the federal court is because he was a frequent dissenter on the state's high court.

Journal photo / Bill Murphy

U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee, right, announces this afternoon that he has nominated former state Supreme Court justice Robert Flanders, left, to fill a vacancy on the federal appeals court in Boston.

"I'm sometimes a frequent dissenter in my party," Chafee said, "and that shows a lot of courage, and I like that."

Flanders, 56, stepped down from the state Supreme Court in 2004 after serving there for nine years. He has since worked for the law firm of Hinckley, Allen and Snyder of Providence, most recently representing Robert A. Urcioli, the embattled former president of Roger Williams Hospital.

Flanders said at the press conference that he plans to keep working on the Urcioli case until his confirmation process was complete.

A vacancy on the federal court was created after the current -- and only -- Rhode Island judge, Bruce M. Selya, announced earlier this week he would become a senior judge to lighten his workload.

The 1st Circuit, based in Boston, hears appeals from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Puerto Rico. It has six active judges. A federal statute requires that, to the extent possible, every state should have one resident on a federal appeals court.

The court also has four senior judges, but one, Frank M. Coffin, of Maine, plans to retire after hearing his last cases in May. Selya became eligible for senior status about six years ago.

Circuit judges receive lifetime appointments and annual salaries of $171,800.

In appointing federal judges, the president often follows the recommendation of the senator in that state from his party. So in this case, the recommendation comes from Chafee, who is running for reelection in one of the nation's most closely watched races.

President Bush's nominee would then face Senate confirmation, where it can take a year or two to confirm a controversial nominee.