One legislator describes Justice Paul A. Suttell as “an unassuming man that makes you relax in his company.”

The Providence Journal Connie Grosch

PROVIDENCE — In 13 minutes flat, the state Senate on Thursday unanimously confirmed Supreme Court Justice Paul A. Suttell as Rhode Island’s 51st chief justice.

The vote concluded a whirlwind week in which Governor Carcieri’s nomination of the former Republican lawmaker as the state’s top judge won overwhelming support from both the Senate and the House and their respective judiciary committees. Not a vote was cast against him.

Fellow judges ringed the Senate floor as the lawmakers voted. The crowd then rose for a rousing ovation. Suttell beamed as his wife, Mary, a volunteer firefighter in Little Compton; the couple’s son, Will, and in-laws stood by his side.

“I’ve always considered public service to be a great privilege,” he said in addressing the Senate moments later. Being named chief justice, he said, is an “indescribable honor.”

He said he hopes to build on relationships he established as a legislator and judge and to work “very cooperatively” with the General Assembly.

Throughout the week, fellow judges, a former clerk and even a Providence man who credited Suttell with helping him turn his life around praised him as a fair-minded, kind judge with a sharp intellect and humble nature.

In speaking in favor of Suttell before Thursday’s vote, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Michael J. McCaffrey described him as a man respected by his peers as well as court staff. His leadership ability, temperament and experience well suited him to oversee the judiciary.

“Paul is an unassuming man that makes you relax in his company,” McCaffrey said.

Suttell will succeed Frank J. Williams, who retired as chief justice in December after eight years at the helm of the state judiciary. Suttell inherits a court system with about 700 employees and a proposed $102-million budget for the coming fiscal year. Suttell will be paid $201,172 a year as chief justice, includinglongevity.

Carcieri commended lawmakers for their swift action.

“Justice Suttell has a lifelong record of service to the people of Rhode Island, first as a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives and later serving on the Family Court and the Rhode Island Supreme Court,” Carcieri said, in a statement. “He has dedicated his career to upholding justice and the highest standards of ethical conduct, which has earned him the respect of his colleagues on the bench and in the legislature.”

Suttell, 60, bested three other Supreme Court justices to become the governor’s nominee: Francis X. Flaherty, William P. Robinson III and Maureen McKenna Goldberg, who has served as acting chief justice since Williams’ retirement. Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. was also in the running.

Robinson testified on Suttell’s behalf before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, casting his colleague as a man of integrity and intellectual honesty who demonstrates true leadership by always trying to achieve consensus.

Suttell, of Little Compton, was appointed to Family Court in 1990 and, by Carcieri, to the high court in 2003. He represented Little Compton, Portsmouth and Tiverton as a Republican legislator from 1983 to 1990.

He holds an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and a law degree from Suffolk University. He began his career as a lawyer with the firm Beals & DiFiore and Crowe, Chester & Adams, and was legal counsel to the Rhode Island House minority leader.

Suttell will be sworn in by the governor at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 16, on the State House steps.

kmulvane@projo.com