United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island

United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island
(D.R.I.)
Appeals to:	First Circuit
Established:	June 23, 1790
Judges assigned:	3
Chief Judge:	William E. Smith (judge)|William E. Smith
http://www.rid.uscourts.gov/

early 20th century postcard of Federal Building (Providence, Rhode Island)

The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (in case citations, D.R.I.) is the Federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Rhode Island. The District Court was created in 1790 when Rhode Island ratified the Constitution. The Federal Courthouse was built in 1908.

Appeals from the District of Rhode Island are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. The current United States Attorney is Peter F. Neronha.

Legislative history

The United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island was established on June 23, 1790 by 1 Stat. 128. Congress authorized one judgeship for the Court, and assigned the district to the Eastern Circuit. On February 13, 1801, the outgoing lame duck Federalist-controlled Congress passed the controversial Judiciary Act of 1801 which reassigned the District of Rhode Island to the First Circuit.

The incoming Congress repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801, but in the Judiciary Act of 1802, Congress again assigned the District of Rhode Island to the First Circuit.

A second seat on the Court was created on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75. A third seat was added on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333.

Current Judges

#	Title	Judge	Duty station	Born	Term of service			Appointed by
					Active	Chief	Senior
22	Chief Judge	William E. Smith	Providence	1959	2002–present	2013–present	—	G.W. Bush
23	District Judge	John J. McConnell, Jr.	Providence	1958	2011–present	—	—	Obama
24	District Judge	vacant	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Senior Judge	Ronald Rene Lagueux	Providence	1931	1986–2001	1992–1999	2001–present	Reagan
21	Senior Judge	Mary M. Lisi	Providence	1950	1994–2015	2006–2013	2015–present	Clinton

Vacancies and pending nominations

Seat	Seat last held by	Vacancy reason	Date of vacancy	Nominee	Date of nomination
1	Mary M. Lisi	Senior Status	October 1, 2015	Mary S. McElroy	September 8, 2015

Former Judges

#	Judge	State	Born–died	Active service	Chief Judge	Senior status	Appointed by	Reason for termination
1	Marchant, HenryHenry Marchant	RI	1741–1796	1790–1796	—	—	Washington, Washington	death
2	Bourne, BenjaminBenjamin Bourne	RI	1755–1808	1796–1801[1]	—	—	Washington, Washington	reappointment
3	Barnes, David LeonardDavid Leonard Barnes	RI	1760–1812	1801–1812[2]	—	—	Jefferson, Jefferson	death
4	Howell, DavidDavid Howell	RI	1747–1824	1812–1824	—	—	Madison, Madison	death
5	Pitman, JohnJohn Pitman	RI	1785–1864	1824–1864[3]	—	—	Monroe, Monroe	death
6	Bullock, Jonathan RussellJonathan Russell Bullock	RI	1815–1899	1865–1869	—	—	Lincoln, Lincoln	resignation
7	Knowles, John PowerJohn Power Knowles	RI	1808–1887	1869–1881[4]	—	—	Grant, Grant	retirement
8	Colt, LeBaron B.LeBaron B. Colt	RI	1846–1924	1881–1884	—	—	Garfield, Garfield	reappointment
9	Carpenter, George MoultonGeorge Moulton Carpenter	RI	1844–1896	1884–1896	—	—	Arthur, Arthur	death
10	Brown, Arthur LewisArthur Lewis Brown	RI	1854–1928	1896–1927[5]	—	—	Cleveland, Cleveland	retirement
11	Letts, Ira LloydIra Lloyd Letts	RI	1889–1947	1927–1935[6]	—	—	Coolidge, Coolidge	resignation
12	Mahoney, John ChristopherJohn Christopher Mahoney	RI	1882–1952	1935–1940	—	—	Roosevelt, F.F. Roosevelt	reappointment
13	Hartigan, John PatrickJohn Patrick Hartigan	RI	1887–1968	1940–1951	—	—	Roosevelt, F.F. Roosevelt	reappointment
14	Leahy, Edward L.Edward L. Leahy	RI	1886–1953	1951–1953	—	—	Truman, Truman	death
15	Day, Edward WilliamEdward William Day	RI	1901–1985	1953–1976[7]	1966–1971	1976–1985	Eisenhower, Eisenhower	death
16	Pettine, Raymond JamesRaymond James Pettine	RI	1912–2003	1966–1982	1971–1982	1982–2003	Johnson, L.L. Johnson	death
17	Boyle, Francis JosephFrancis Joseph Boyle	RI	1927–2006	1977–1992	1982–1992	1992–2006	Carter, Carter	death
18	Selya, Bruce M.Bruce M. Selya	RI	1934–present	1982–1986	—	—	Reagan, Reagan	reappointment
20	Torres, Ernest C.Ernest C. Torres	RI	1941–present	1987–2006	1999–2006	2006–2011	Reagan, Reagan	retirement

Succession of seats

Seat 1 Seat established on June 23, 1790 by 1 Stat. 128 Marchant 1790–1796 Bourne 1796–1801 Barnes 1801–1812 Howell 1812–1824 Pitman 1824–1864 Bullock 1865–1869 Knowles 1869–1881 Colt 1881–1884 Carpenter 1884–1896 Brown 1896–1927 Letts 1927–1935 Mahoney 1935–1940 Hartigan 1940–1951 Leahy 1951–1953 Day 1953–1976 Boyle 1977–1992 Lisi 1994–2015 vacant 2015–present

Seat 2 Seat established on March 18, 1966 by 80 Stat. 75 Pettine 1966–1982 Selya 1982–1986 Torres 1987–2006 McConnell 2011–present

Seat 3 Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 Lagueux 1986–2001 Smith 2002–present

Notable cases

• West v. Barnes (1791), the first case appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court
• Fricke v. Lynch (1980), case involving government gender limits on prom dates

See also

• Courts of Rhode Island
• List of United States federal courthouses in Rhode Island

Notes

1. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 21, 1796, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 1796, and received commission on December 22, 1796.
2. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 6, 1802, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 26, 1802, and received commission on January 26, 1802.
3. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 16, 1824, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 3, 1825, and received commission on January 3, 1825.
4. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1869, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 24, 1870, and received commission on January 24, 1870.
5. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 8, 1896, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 15, 1896, and received commission on December 15, 1896.
6. Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 6, 1927, confirmed by the United States Senate on January 4, 1928, and received commission on January 4, 1928.
7. Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 11, 1954, confirmed by the United States Senate on February 9, 1954, and received commission on February 9, 1954.

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island Official Website