In a case that has pitted a Superior Court judge against the Parole Board, the state Supreme Court yesterday delayed a Foster man’s release from prison for driving drunk in a deadly 2003 crash.

Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Procaccini on Tuesday reduced Ryan Salvadore’s sentence by one year, essentially freeing him that day. The judge said he had no choice given that the Parole Board had violated Salvadore’s rights when it decided to keep him jailed because, the board said, the judge’s original sentence was too light.

“That, in my understanding of the authority of the Parole Board, is far beyond their authority and their power. It is tantamount to judicial review,” he said, according to a transcript. “My understanding is the only authority empowered to review my sentences is the Supreme Court of Rhode Island. In essence, by saying what they did and by penalizing him for my sentence … they have deprived him of his due process rights.”

Prosecutors immediately asked acting Chief Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg to stay Salvadore’s release, arguing it was not legally justified. Goldberg granted an emergency two-day stay. The full court continued the stay indefinitely after a chambers conference yesterday.

John F. Cicilline, Salvadore’s lawyer, did not return a phone call late yesterday afternoon so it remains unclear whether Salvadore will appeal the matter to the high court.

Salvadore, now 30, was on his way home from the Stagecoach Tavern in Chepachet the night of Dec. 23, 2003, after drinking a few beers there and a few at a friend’s house, according to testimony.

He was heading west on Route 6 when the pickup truck he was driving crossed the center line and slammed head-on into a car driven by 19-year-old Charles R. Erler, of Scituate. Erler, who was on his way home from work, was pronounced dead at the scene. His two passengers were seriously injured.

Cicilline argued at Salvadore’s 2005 trial that his client was not drunk and did not cause the accident. Assistant Attorney General Stephen A. Regine called to the stand a nurse, who had found Salvadore’s blood-alcohol level to be 0.107 at 12:50 a.m. The legal limit to drive is 0.08.

A jury found Salvadore guilty of driving under the influence and driving to endanger, both with death resulting. In addition, he was convicted of two counts each of driving under the influence and driving to endanger, both with serious personal injury resulting, for each of the passengers.

Procaccini sentenced Salvadore, who had a clean record, to 10 years in prison, with 4 to serve, in February 2006. The term fell within state benchmarks of 3 to 10 years, Procaccini said.

In June 2007, the Parole Board denied Salvadore’s request for parole, saying he did not show “a clear acceptance of his responsibility.” The board added that it had looked carefully at his sentence, which allows him to get out daily on work release. “The board felt very strongly that this sentence in itself was far less than what other inmates receive for similar crimes.”

They ordered him to continue his term through this April. (Though his full sentence is up in February 2010, he has received credit for good behavior.)

Salvadore in November asked that his sentence be reduced, arguing he had shown “extraordinary remorse” and made valuable contributions to society by trying to warn teens about the dangers of drinking. Cicilline, his lawyer, said the board had violated state law and its own policy by reviewing the sentence imposed.

Cicilline said yesterday he had never before seen a Parole Board decision criticizing a sentence. “I would think that would be an area they would stay away from,” he said. He noted that victim’s mother, Mary Jean Erler, works for Parole Board’s Sex Offender Notification Unit.

In opposing Salvadore’s request, Regine said, nothing bars the board from looking at the actual sentence imposed. He cited case law establishing that the board, because of its expertise, has been granted “extraordinarily broad discretion.”

The board defended its ruling yesterday. “We felt we did the right thing,” Chairman Kenneth R. Walker said. “From our own guidelines, we made the decision. We stand by the decision.” Walker could not say whether the board had taken a sentence into consideration in other cases.

The board will take up another controversial drunken-driving case being handled by Procaccini later this month. On Jan. 26, it will consider a parole request by Joshua Lipton, who gained nationwide notoriety by dressing in a prison jumpsuit for a Halloween party two weeks after he was charged in a drunken-driving crash that severely injured a Lincoln woman.

Procaccini in May sentenced Lipton, of Fairfield, Conn., to eight years in prison, with two to serve, after he pleaded guilty. Last month, Lipton asked Procaccini to reduce his sentence.

Procaccini said he was inclined to reduce his term based on Lipton’s unblemished prison performance. The judge continued the hearing on the matter to Jan. 30, after the Parole Board met on Lipton’s case.

Procaccini did not return a phone call seeking comment yesterday afternoon.

kmulvane@projo.com