House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi announced Friday that he is elevating Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee to be the next chair of the panel responsible for shaping Rhode Island’s penal code and judicial system.
McEntee, a South Kingstown Democrat, will succeed Rep. Robert Craven, who announced Oct. 6 that he’s stepping down from the House Committee on Judiciary — and elected office altogether when his term ends following the 2026 legislative session.
Craven bowed out from his committee position after launching a brief run for Rhode Island attorney general that ended in early October amid renewed scrutiny of domestic assault charges from two decades ago.
Craven will remain on the committee, House spokesperson Larry Berman confirmed.
McEntee spent the last five legislative sessions as first vice-chair of the Judiciary Committee, presiding over hearings in Craven’s absence. In a statement Friday, McEntee called her appointment a “tremendous honor.”
“At a time when countless rights are being trampled upon and disregarded, the House Judiciary Committee stands as a crucial line of defense for all Rhode Islanders and that will not change,” McEntee said in a statement. “I look forward to working with other members of the committee and the entire House of Representatives to ensure that the people of Rhode Island are cared for, supported and protected.”
In addition to giving McEntee the chairmanship, Shekarchi has appointed Rep. Jason Knight, a Barrington Democrat running for attorney general next year, from second vice-chair to first vice-chair. Rep. Matthew Dawson, an East Providence, will take over as second vice-chair.
McEntee was elected to represent House District 33 in 2015 and has been a champion of legislation assisting victims of domestic assault and sexual violence. In 2024, she was the lead sponsor of a law that now allows sexual assault victims use a medical forensic exam instead of a police report to qualify for the State Crime Victim Compensation Program.
She was also one of the proponents of the newly enacted law banning the purchase and sale of assault-style firearms starting in July 2026.
McEntee works as an attorney, licensed in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, at her private practice in Wakefield and Warwick. She is also a former special assistant attorney general in Rhode Island and a former assistant city solicitor and prosecutor for the City of Warwick.
Shekarchi said of McEntee in a statement that he has “no doubt that her dedication and compassion will continue to serve all Rhode Islanders well as the Judiciary Committee.”
“I have the utmost confidence in her ability to lead this important committee,” Shekarchi said. “As one of the House’s leading voices to protect and deliver justice for victims of childhood sexual abuse, she truly understands how this committee helps and protects the people of Rhode Island.”
This brief was originally published by the Rhode Island Current.
