EDITORIAL: Stain on the Courthouse

EDITORIAL: Stain on the Courthouse

A GoLocal report unveils that former State House power broker and now District Court Judge Michael McCaffrey is perfecting the game.

 

The inside game.

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McCaffrey, who was a State House politico for more than two decades, wanted to be a judge.

 

He then told his former Senators he wanted to be a judge.

 

As the process began, he then dipped into his political campaign fund and donated thousands to his former Senate colleagues.

 

As he worked his way through the “selection” process, those very Senators — who he gave donations to — low and behold voted to confirm their former colleague and political donor. Every one of them.

 

If that was not conflicted enough, McCaffrey, who was sworn in in a private, secret ceremony to avoid protests due to his positions on women and LGBTQ+ issues.

 

McCaffrey, despite being a candidate for a judicial appointment and now a member of the bench for the better part of a year, continues to operate an active political campaign account.

 

The Rhode Island Code of Judicial Conduct specifically prohibits judges or judicial nominees from engaging in political activities.

 

It is time for the Court to take action. The leadership of the judiciary needs to ensure that the court is void of blatant political activities — or any political activities.

 

This one is not complicated; this situation has the appearance of a conflict and blatant politics.

 

It is a stain on the Court.