Sheehan on Need for Merit-Based Selection for Magistrates in RI on LIVE

Sheehan on Need for Merit-Based Selection for Magistrates in RI on LIVE

Rhode Island State Senator James Sheehan joined GoLocal News Editor Kate Nagle on GoLocal LIVE to talk about legislation that he introduced — and was recently heard by Senate Judiciary — to extend the merit selection process used for judges to Rhode Island’s magistrates. 

Sheehan (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown) spoke to the bill (2018-S 2611) what would give the governor the sole authority to nominate, on the basis of merit, from a list submitted by the Judicial Nominating Commission with the advice and consent of the Senate, all judges and magistrates, to all courts. In August of last year, top staffers to Governor Gina Raimondo and Speaker Nick Mattiello were named magistrates.

“When Rhode Island amended its constitution in 1994 to create the merit selection process for selecting judges, it was a bold and innovative step,” said Sheehan. “At that time, there were no magistrates, but since then, 20 have been appointed and more are on the way. This would update the law so that magistrates would have to be appointed using that same merit selection process. It would remove the veil on the current process and bring it the level of transparency that we’ve come to expect in the appointment of judges.”