{"id":43,"date":"2026-05-10T19:33:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=43"},"modified":"2026-05-10T19:33:59","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T19:33:59","slug":"ethics-complaint-alleges-former-r-i-speaker-is-violating-revolving-door-ban-by-applying-for-supreme-court-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=43","title":{"rendered":"Ethics complaint alleges former R.I. speaker is violating \u2018revolving door\u2019 ban by applying for Supreme Court opening"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>PROVIDENCE \u2014 A law professor has filed a complaint with the state Ethics Commission alleging that former house speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi violated Rhode Island\u2019s \u201crevolving door\u201d prohibition by applying for a state Supreme Court vacancy this week. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=41\">Feds add more charges against Cape Cod state lawmaker accused of stealing from employer to pay campaign expenses<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The former speaker, a Warwick Democrat, contends that a Supreme Court position is a constitutional office that\u2019s not subject to the prohibition. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI am not surprised, and I will deal with this through the legal process and not the media,\u201d Shekarchi said Friday, through a spokesperson.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>The complaint is expected to go before the Ethics Commission for an initial review on June 2, said Jason Gramitt, the executive director and chief prosecutor.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Professor Michael J. Yelnosky, a former dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law, argued in his complaint filed Friday that Shekarchi\u2019s application for the Supreme Court \u201cviolated the Code of Ethics, which prohibits a state elected official, while holding state office and for a period of one year after leaving office, from seeking or accepting employment with any other state agency.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Rhode Map<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>On Thursday, Shekarchi stepped down as house speaker to apply for the vacancy created by Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg\u2019s retirement. He remains a state representative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The revolving door rule exists to \u201ccreate a level playing field\u201d among applicants for state jobs, said John Marion, the executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, a good-government group. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe speaker of the House shouldn\u2019t be able to use the fact that he\u2019s a legislator to get a leg up on any other person.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yelnosky had written a Globe opinion piece in March, saying, \u201cNo sitting speaker, regardless of character and qualifications, can become a justice without seriously damaging the court\u2019s reputation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Shekarchi said he would not seek an Ethics Commission advisory opinion, and argued that he would not be violating the revolving door ban.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI disagree with that legal analysis,\u201d Shekarchi said Thursday. \u201cI have done my own. I feel I\u2019m a competent attorney.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yelnosky, who studies judicial selection matters, said Friday he \u201cdid not take this step lightly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI had hoped that Representative Shekarchi would decide not to apply for the position or, at a minimum, that he would seek an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission,\u201d Yelnosky said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He said it remains an \u201copen question\u201d whether the revolving-door prohibition applies to openings on the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat question should be resolved,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The question has come before the Ethics Commission before.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In 2020, another Warwick Democrat \u2014 then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairwoman Erin Lynch Prata \u2014 applied for a Supreme Court seat. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=39\">Is the GOP nomination for governor already sewn up? History says, not so fast.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Ethics Commission staff concluded the revolving door provision of the state ethics code prohibited her from seeking a Supreme Court seat for a full year after leaving office. But commission members voted 5-2 to reject the staff\u2019s advice, opening the door for then-governor Gina Raimondo to appoint her to the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yelnosky said the Ethics Commission never issued an advisory opinion that would set a precedent for Shekarchi\u2019s situation. And the commission now has new members.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>On Thursday, Shekarchi noted the Ethics Commission\u2019s legal counsel disagreed with its staff in 2020, saying Lynch Prata could seek a Supreme Court seat because it\u2019s a \u201cconstitutional court,\u201d rather than a lower court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe actual act is enough,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to issue an opinion. And, by the way, nobody fought that, and nobody changed that. And in six years, when Erin went, the revolving door hasn\u2019t changed, the statute hasn\u2019t changed, the Constitution hasn\u2019t changed, and the facts haven\u2019t changed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Yelnosky said if Shekarchi is prohibited from applying, he can resign his seat and wait one year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAt that point, he would be eligible to apply for vacancies on any Rhode Island court, including future vacancies on the Rhode Island Supreme Court, where additional openings are likely in the near future,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Marion said Common Cause agrees with Yelnosky\u2019s assessment. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe agree that Joe Shekarchi violated the Code of Ethics by applying without waiting out the one year,\u201d Marion said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If Shekarchi becomes a judge, he would be prohibited from accepting campaign donations or donating to other campaigns. He has amassed $4.7 million in campaign cash over his career in politics, and said Thursday he would immediately suspend all fund-raising activities. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>If he is selected for the high court, he said he would likely donate the money to charity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI am very partial to, as you know, animal rescues,\u201d Shekarchi said. \u201cMy family has been very affected by diabetes and by Alzheimer\u2019s, and those are causes that are near and dear to my heart. So we\u2019ll cross that bridge if and when I get to become that judge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Applications for the Supreme Court are considered by the Judicial Nominating Commission, which forwards its short list of finalists to the governor. The governor nominates someone from that list, who then must be confirmed by the state Senate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Shekarchi said he has not received any assurances from Governor Dan McKee that he is going to get the nomination. Laura Hart, a spokesperson for the governor, said every candidate \u201cwill receive full and fair consideration, as is the case with every judicial vacancy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe have never discussed this,\u201d Shekarchi said. \u201cI will say that under oath.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><i>This story has been updated with comments from Michael Yelnosky, K. Joseph Shekarchi, John Marion, and Laura Hart.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=38\">Obama weighs in on Colbert for president, current political climate, and aliens on \u2018The Late Show\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Yelnosky, former dean of the Roger Williams University School of Law, filed a complaint arguing that the former House speaker should wait a year before seeking a seat on the high court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ethics complaint alleges former R.I. speaker is violating \u2018revolving door\u2019 ban by applying for Supreme Court opening - 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