Justice Paul Suttell has been selected by Governor Carcieri as the next chief justice of the state Supreme Court. His nomination requires General Assembly approval.

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The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

PROVIDENCE — Six years ago, Governor Carcieri named Paul A. Suttell to the state Supreme Court and on Thursday the same governor nominated the former Republican legislator to be the court’s next chief justice.

Carcieri praised Suttell’s judicial and scholarly experience in making his afternoon announcement.

“[Suttell] has served the public with the highest honor and distinction, first as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and later as a Family Court judge and Supreme Court justice,” Carcieri said. “He is a dedicated and conscientious jurist, whose understanding of the law and ability to lead will serve him well as chief justice.”

Suttell, 60, beat out three other Supreme Court justices for the nomination: Francis X. Flaherty, William P. Robinson III, and Maureen McKenna Goldberg, who has served as acting chief justice since Frank J. Williams’ retirement in December. Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. was also in the running.

The governor made his selection after having lengthy interviews with each candidate and reviewing their bodies of work, references and curriculum vitaes, said Amy Kempe, Carcieri’s spokeswoman. “It was a comprehensive, very thoughtful and conscientious evaluation. … The governor made his decision based on the merits of the individual.”

The governor complimented each of the candidates as exemplary jurists.

Suttell expressed gratitude when reached at his home in Little Compton Thursday night. The governor, he said, had called him around 2:30 p.m. to deliver the news.

“I’m extremely pleased and very grateful,” he said. “Obviously, the first step is confirmation. I look forward to the confirmation process and the challenges ahead.”

In a statement released by the courts, Suttell added: “I am humbled by the confidence that the governor has shown in me with his decision, particularly in light of the extraordinary quality of candidates he had to choose from,” Suttell said. “All of the justices on the Supreme Court applied for the job, and we all knew that no matter who received the appointment we would all continue to work together in the collegial manner that has been characteristic of this court.”

In the same statement, Goldberg said she had congratulated Suttell. “Rhode Island will be well-served by his appointment,” she said.

Suttell was a Republican state representative from 1983 to 1990, serving his last five years as deputy minority leader. He went directly in 1990 from the State House to the Family Court, where he presided over all of that court’s calendars.

Suttell’s nomination must now go before the House and Senate for confirmation. If confirmed to the lifetime post, Suttell would earn a base annual salary of $167,644 and oversee the state judiciary’s $85-million budget, approximately 700 employees and 6 courts.

Suttell told the Judicial Nominating Commission in March that a chief justice can’t get involved in all the details of court administration. “I would not intend to micromanage the other courts,” he said.

The state is in such financial distress, he said, that all branches of government, including the judiciary, need to make budget cuts and find innovative ways to do with less.

“This branch of government has been left in good shape by Chief Justice Williams,” Suttell said in Thursday’s statement, “and I look forward to guiding the court through the coming challenges.”

At this point, it does not appear that Suttell will have any problems winning confirmation in the House and Senate, where the legislators who control both chambers spoke highly of the man they all know well enough to refer to by his first name.

None were more enthused than House Minority Leader Robert Watson, R-East Greenwich, Suttell’s former GOP colleague: “It’s always a great idea to reach into the talent pool of former Republican House members to pick the chief judge. An excellent pick, an excellent gentleman, and excellent jurist.’

The governor “could not have made a mistake given the strong candidates who were on his desk,” Watson said, but “I do think Paul is going to be a wonderful chief judge … and I look forward to supporting Paul.”

While noting the Senate’s intent to vet the nomination through the traditional advice-and-consent process, Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Newport, said: “Paul Suttell is a well-respect jurist. … Having had the opportunity to practice in the Family Court, I believe that Paul Suttell, regardless of previous party affiliations, has served the state well, both as a member of the Family Court and in his capacity in the Supreme Court.”

Similarly, House Speaker William J. Murphy, D-West Warwick, called Suttell “a gentleman,” and “very distinguished member of the Family Court [who has] done an admirable job in his time on the Supreme Court, and he was up here from 1983 to 90, so he has earned much respect in the House of Representatives.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Michael J. McCaffrey, D-Warwick, who will likely oversee the Senate confirmation hearing, added: “I am sure Paul is going to make it through the Senate with no problem.”

Asked if Carcieri’s choice of a former Republican for the top spot signals that the high court seat Suttell would leave will go to a Democrat, House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, D-Providence, quipped, “I am not a candidate for that position” and then, more seriously, said, “I would always urge the governor to put a good Democrat on the Supreme Court, so obviously … I would like to see that.”

kgregg@projo.com