After weeks of debate about whether politicians should be able to jump directly from the legislature to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, Gov. Dan McKee on Wednesday nominated Judge Luis Matos to fill the court’s vacant seat.
Matos, a former prosecutor in the U.S. attorney’s office in Rhode Island, has served as an associate justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court since he was nominated by then-Gov. Lincoln Chafee in 2012.
Raised in Providence’s Fox Point section, Matos, 62, was born in Portugal. He earned degrees from Brown University and the University of Connecticut School of Law and resides in Providence.
McKee’s pick of Matos means that former House Speaker Joe Shekarchi did not get the job, after weeks of debate about whether his appointment would violate the state’s revolving door law.
At a Wednesday news conference announcing his selection of Matos, the governor declined to directly respond to reporters’ questions about whether politics influenced his selection as he faces a tough re-election fight.
The governor called Matos a Rhode Island success story who has served his home state and the nation with distinction.
“We had five candidates, clearly, that had the qualifications,” McKee said, “and I selected what I felt was absolutely the best one for the highest court in our state.”
Matos, who is not related to Lt. Gov. Sabina Matos, said he was honored and humbled by the trust placed in him by McKee.
The judge credited his rise to his own hard work and other influences – the Portuguese community, a bilingual education program in elementary school and his parents and extended family.
“I am the product of the incredible opportunity that this country can provide,” Matos said, “to those who are nurtured, supported and encouraged to pursue their passion and their dreams with hard work and focus.”
Matos faces confirmation by the Rhode Island House of Representatives and state Senate.
It’s unclear if Statehouse politics and McKee’s rejection of Shekarchi will complicate Matos’ path to confirmation.
In a statement, House Speaker Chris Blazejewski and Senate President Val Lawson said they will work with the governor to take up the nomination after the general election on Nov. 3.
“We informed the Governor of our shared goal of taking the politics as much as possible out of what has become an overly politicized Supreme Court nomination process,” the legislative leaders said. “We do not believe it is appropriate or prudent for consideration of any nominee, regardless of who it is, to begin until after that date.”
Nomination process dogged by politics
The choice of someone other than Shekarchi raises the question of whether McKee’s tough re-election fight in a primary against fellow Democrat Helena Foulkes influenced his selection – and a faster-than-usual decision.
McKee and other governors have repeatedly exceeded the state law calling for them to select judges within 21 days after receiving a list of finalists from the state Judicial Nominating Commission.
In this case, McKee acted just over two weeks afterreceiving a list from the JNC – and before the Supreme Court itself could consider an appeal of anearlier Superior Court decision that had opened the door for Shekarchi.
The governor said his decision – and its timing – are in the public interest.
“I can tell you we went through the process,” McKee said. “We didn’t take any shortcuts and we interviewed all the candidates in a way where they put their best foot forward, and at the end of the process, Judge Matos is clearly the individual that I believe is best-suited to be nominated.”
The governor announced his nomination on the same day as a gubernatorial debate on WJAR-TV, the local NBC affiliate, and six days before a debate on CBS affiliate WPRI-TV.
Shekarchi case could still move forward
Shekarchistepped down from his powerful post in May to apply for the Supreme Court, and he was considered to have an inside track because of his political prominence.
The former speaker previously considered running for governor and Congress.
The appearance of a top lawmaker potentially moving straight to the state’s top court set off a simmering debate – and a complaint to the Rhode Island Ethics Commission by Michael Yelnosky, a law school professor and former dean at Roger Williams University School of Law.
The revolving door law generally requires elected officials to spend a year outside of state employment before taking another government job. It was created after a series of court scandals in the late ’80s and early ’90s.
Superior Court Judge Richard Licht ruled that the revolving door law does not apply to Shekarchi in this instance since the Supreme Court was created by the state Constitution.
When Attorney General Peter Neronha endorsed Foulkesin March, both said they thought Shekarchi would make a good Supreme Court justice.
However, public debate about the issue continued, and some supporters of McKee urged him to pick someone other than Shekarchi for the Supreme Court.
The Ethics Commission filed notice Tuesday that itplanned to appeal Licht’s decision.
Jason Gramitt, executive director of the commission, said it plans to see the appeal through.
“The last few months have shown us that this is a significant issue of great public concern, likely to repeat itself,” Gramitt said in a statement. “Therefore, it is appropriate and necessary to continue the appeal to bring the matter to our highest court for a final resolution.”
A court spokesman said the judiciary will not comment on whether the Supreme Court will still consider the appeal by the Ethics Commission of Judge Licht’s decision.
Shekarchi and Matos were two of the five finalists for the spot on the Supreme Court. The others were: Assistant Attorney General Christopher Bush, Family Court Judge Laureen D'Ambra, and lawyer John Roberts.
This developing story has been updated with additional information.
