Judge Bruce M. Selya's decision to assume senior status presumably opens a seat on the Boston-based court for another Rhode Islander.

01:00 AM EST on Tuesday, March 14, 2006

BY EDWARD FITZPATRICK
Journal Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Judge Bruce M. Selya, since 1986 the only Rhode Islander on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will lighten his caseload and assume senior status, offering the opportunity for a Rhode Island resident to take a seat on the Boston-based court.

Those expected to receive consideration for the position include former state Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Flanders Jr., U.S. District Judge William E. Smith, state Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause, U.S. Attorney Robert Clark Corrente and state Supreme Court Justice Paul A. Suttell.

"This has been a terrific ride for me, and I've been extremely privileged," Selya said. "I'm not getting off the ride. I'm just moving from the fast track to a more leisurely pace."

Selya, 71, of Providence, said he decided to take senior status for four reasons, and the most important is the chance to spend more time with his family.

Selya said his wife, Cynthia, wants him to curtail his caseload but to keep working. He said she recently told one of his colleagues, "I married him for better or for worse, but not for lunch."

Another reason is that Selya's eyesight continues to deteriorate. The convergence of three eye conditions has left him with "no conventional reading vision," but he has been able to continue his work by using enlarged text and video magnification, he said.

Also, Selya said, "I have a very firm belief that institutions need to renew themselves, and it is good for institutions to have an injection of fresh blood."

Finally, Selya said, he has committed to teaching a course at the Roger Williams University law school in Bristol, beginning in September. He said he will be allowed to craft his own course, The Lessons of Litigation. And he said it would be difficult to teach a course while maintaining a full workload with the 1st Circuit.

Selya said he hopes that by cutting back on the volume of the cases he handles, he will maintain the quality of his legal work. "I have enough vanity to think I have established a certain reputation nationally, and I don't want to jeopardize that," he said. "At a certain age it's very easy to lose a little off your fastball and to not notice it."

Studies show Selya has become one of the nation's most influential federal appellate judges, based on the number of times other federal judges cite his opinions.

Selya said colleagues urged him to remain on active status while cutting back on his workload, but he said he would not have felt right about doing that.

Although he thinks he's making the right decision, Selya said he is making the move with "great trepidation."

"It's a huge change," he said. "I have always been a very high energy person -- the more work the better -- and the idea of slowing down a little, in some ways, I find a little frightening."

As a senior circuit judge, Selya will more or less set his own schedule and control the amount of work he gets. Senior judges can maintain their offices and staffs if they continue to handle at least a quarter of a full caseload, and he plans to carry three-quarters of a full caseload.

Selya said he will remain on a secretive federal court that hears appeals involving wiretaps of suspected spies and terrorists.

In August, Selya was appointed to a seven-year term on the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. The court has issued one public decision since it was formed in 1978, but it might be seeing more activity now that the federal government has expanded its authority to conduct surveillance to fight terrorism.

Born in Providence, Selya graduated from Harvard College in 1955 and from Harvard Law School in 1958. He was in private law practice from 1960 to 1982, and he chaired the late John H. Chafee's campaign for the U.S. Senate. Chafee recommended him for the federal bench, and Selya served on the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island from 1982 until 1986, when he was named to the 1st Circuit.

The 1st Circuit, based in Boston, hears appeals from Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Puerto Rico. It has six active judges. Selya said 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. Senior judges are eligible to retire at full salary, so "any work the government gets is a bonus," Selya said. He said he 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 would come from Republican Sen. Lincoln D. 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. While it can take a year or two to confirm a controversial nominee, Selya said, "I would hope the process would go very quickly and within four to six months we'd have a new judge."

In a letter that he sent to President Bush yesterday, Selya said, "I write to advise you of my intention . . . to assume senior status effective as of the appointment of my successor or at the close of business on Dec. 31, 2006, whichever first occurs. I met the age and service requirements for senior status some time ago."

"I know at first hand that the federal judiciary is a critically important part of our tripartite system of government," Selya wrote. "The opportunity to serve in the judicial branch (first as a district judge and then as a circuit judge) has been an extraordinary privilege. I greatly appreciate the confidence that President Reagan reposed in me, and I have done my very best to acquit myself in the noble tradition of the Article III courts."

In conclusion, Selya wrote: "I wish you Godspeed in your selection of my successor and in your continued efforts on behalf of this wonderful nation."

efitzpat@projo.com / (401) 277-7368