Legal News

Rhode Island Chief Justice to Step Down

By Dan Slater

Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams poses with one of his many President Abraham Lincoln busts. (AP/Victoria Arocho)

Frank J. Williams, the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, has made periodic appearances on the Law Blog over the years. Most recently, he was spotted supporting Joseph Larisa in his stare down with Gibson Dunn’s Ted Olson over who would argue an Indian land case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Before that, we cited him for overturning a big verdict against lead paint producers.

Today, we bid Chief Justice Williams farewell. The Providence Journal reports that Williams, 68, has “stunned the legal community” by announcing that he will resign at year’s end.

“Why now?” he said in an interview with the ProJo. “There’s never a good time.” But he said he’ll miss pushing for further improvements to the court system. “The fight, the advocacy, protecting the judicial staff,” he said. “I see myself as very strong-willed, but the willfulness was for the people, not me.”

Williams, who earns $184,408.38 per year, will be eligible for 75 percent of his salary in retirement, or $138,306.28 annually. Had he remained for two more years, he would have been able to collect his full salary.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on December 12, 2008 (boomark / email).