PROVIDENCE - The last three candidates for Supreme Court chief justice made their pitches last night to the board that will soon select finalists for the top post, stressing their judicial experience and leadership skills.

All three candidates told the Judicial Nominating Commission that they would draw on those qualifications in leading the state's judiciary and working with the other branches of state government.

And as their three competitors emphasized during earlier interviews, they said that one of the new chief justice's top priorities would be improving public trust and confidence in state courts.

Supreme Court Justice Victoria S. Lederberg and Superior Court Judges Michael A. Silverstein and Frank J. Williams did not surprise anyone when discussing topics that ranged from reviewing the troubled Traffic Court to their motivations for applying.

To varying degrees, they expressed support for a middle-of-the-road judicial philosophy that respects the language of statutes and the decisions of previous courts while applying them to the changing circumstances of the day.

The nearly two-hour session ended the interviews for the highest position in the state judiciary, one overseeing a $60-million yearly budget, which is being vacated Feb. 28, 2001, by Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger.

The questions posed to the candidates were not critical. Lederberg seized on one to note that her ascension to chief justice would be a first for women in Rhode Island. Williams, an expert on Abraham Lincoln, said the 16th president inspired his legal career.

And Silverstein, who presided over the Superior Court's difficult special cause calendar for years, touted decisions setting a contested school budget and addressing Providence's financially plagued pension system.

Still, all three avoided committing to specifics, saying they would look at the Traffic Court, consider giving the District Courts more authority and work with the legislature, whose backing they will need to become chief justice.

And their replies displayed something of their personalities, from Lederberg's political past as a state senator to Silverstein's tenure leading a major law firm in Rhode Island to Williams's eclectic interests.

On Nov. 29, the Judicial Nominating Commission will solicit public comments on each of the candidates and then select three to five finalists for Governor Almond. The House and Senate must act on the governor's choice.

This week's hearings were an opportunity for the six candidates for chief justice — all judges on state courts — to promote their candidacies and for the nine members of the commission to ask them questions.

Answering questions in the Department of Administration building on Monday were Supreme Court Justice Robert G. Flanders Jr., Superior Court Judge Francis J. Darigan Jr. and Family Court Chief Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah Jr.

Last night, Lederberg kicked off the hearings. By far, she spoke the longest among the evening's candidates, exceeding her allotted 30 minutes by nearly a half-hour. She offered the most general responses.

Lederberg spoke passionately about making minorities feel more comfortable using the state courts, saying it was important because the legal system is one of the few institutions these days that brings all Americans together.

As chief justice, she said, she would stress to judges and court staffers their sensitive role as the public face of the courts and "drag" more Rhode Islanders into the court system to see how it operates.

Lederberg, a psychology professor before embarking on her legal career, touted her opinions as a Supreme Court justice on the standards for admitting expert testimony and other scientific evidence in a trial.

The second speaker was Silverstein, who said he would not begin buying more computers, adding clerks and rehabilitating courthouses as chief justice without securing wide support among the judiciary and appropriate financing.

Noting his leadership style during four years as managing partner at Hinckley, Allen & Snyder, Silverstein said, "You don't do things by fiat."

Later he added, "It's nice to say we're going to do x, y and z. There are certain realities."

In response to a question about the sometimes bitter dissents marking the current state Supreme Court, Silverstein said he would encourage his colleagues on the court to "appreciate" their varying viewpoints.

The last speaker, Williams, called this a "critical time" for the courts. As chief justice, he said, he would form committees to develop five-year plans for addressing five areas of concern.

Williams said the areas of concern were the courts' limited technology, old buildings, fragile security and public access, which includes making the courts more accommodating to minorities.

And he touted his summer's successful mediation of the contract dispute involving state prison guards as an example of his consensus-building skills, his service in the U.S. Army and — to laughter — his well-known lasagna.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Copyright © 2001 The Providence Journal Company
Help Center • Privacy policy • Terms of service • Make this your home page