01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 12, 2006

All members of Rhode Island's legal bar were deeply saddened by the recent death of Judge William A. Dimitri Jr. Words cannot adequately describe how admired, respected and loved Judge Dimitri was.

Judge Dimitri was the quintessential Superior Court judge, having been both a prosecutor, at the state and federal level, and a criminal-defense attorney. There was nothing he hadn't seen before.

Judge Dimitri had that rare ability to get to the heart of a matter and find middle ground acceptable to both sides. He had the courage to impose lenient sentences when they were called for, as well as harsh sentences when they were necessary. And he had the courage to make a ruling he felt was correct even when he was aware that it might well be reversed by a higher court.

In short, Judge Dimitri not only had the courage of his convictions; he had the courage to act upon them.

Judge Dimitri never forgot where he came from. In fact, he drew upon his background to ensure that a just result was achieved. He never forgot his roots as a hard-working Italia-American. Before he was a judge, prosecutor, or criminal-defense attorney, he was a laborer, a husband, and a father. Regardless of a ruling, a decision or a sentence, you knew that with Judge Dimitri, the criminal-justice system was operating as our forefathers had intended.

I will miss Judge Dimitri very much. Yet in the halls of Rhode Island's Superior Courts, his spirit will always endure.

JOHN MacDONALD

Providence