RI Supreme Court Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg to retire

Rhode Island Supreme Court Associate Justice Maureen McKenna Goldberg is stepping down after more than three decades serving in the state’s judiciary.

Goldberg alerted Gov. Dan McKee in a letter Thursday — her 75th birthday — that she intends to retire from the state’s highest bench on Friday, March 27. 

“It is only after careful thought and deep reflection, that I have come to the conclusion that after a lifetime of public service, now is the appropriate time for my service to the judiciary and the people of Rhode Island to come to an end,” she wrote.

Gov. Lincoln Almond, a Republican, appointed her to the Supreme Court in April of 1997 after she served seven years on the Superior Court bench. She had been appointed to the Superior Court by Republican Gov. Edward D. DiPrete.

McKee, a Democrat, praised Goldberg for her 35 years serving Rhode Island’s court network.

“She has had a lasting impact on the Bar, not only for the numerous decisions she authored but also for the extraordinary mentorship she provided to her clerks, many of whom have now become judges themselves,” McKee said in a statement. “Justice Goldberg focused on the professional development of female attorneys and has received numerous awards for the promotion and enhancement of women in the legal profession.”

State law tasks the governor to notify the Judicial Nominating Commission of the Supreme Court vacancy. The panel will have to provide a list of three to five recommendations for lifetime court appointments within 90 days. The governor must fill a Supreme Court vacancy within 21 days of getting the commissions list of preferred candidates. 

Born in Pawtucket in 1951, Goldberg grew up in a family of seven children in East Providence. Following her graduation from St. Mary Academy Bay View in East Providence, she enrolled at Salve Regina University, then transferred to Providence College when it began accepting women as undergraduates in 1971. 

Goldberg gave the commencement address for Providence College’s graduating class of 2022, where she looked back on being among the first female graduates from the Catholic college.

“The fact that many considered the arrival of women on campus at Providence College to be momentous or that there may be competition between the men and the women never occurred to me,” she said. “When it finally did, I ignored it — and I have ever since.”

She graduated cum laude with a degree in secondary education-history in 1973. She started her career as a teacher, teaching reading and social studies to third and fourth graders in Providence before enrolling in Suffolk University Law School, where she earned her doctor of law degree with honors in 1978.

In less than two years, Goldberg was one of the first women to be assistant attorney general for the state and went on to lead the office’s criminal division. During her time as a prosecutor, she tried unsuccessfully to put former Providence Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci behind bars for assaulting his estranged wife’s alleged lover in 1984. Cianci pleaded no contest to felony assault and was forced to resign.

She joined her husband Robert D. Goldberg in their private practice and served as town solicitor for South Kingstown and Westerly — the latter where she also was interim town manager.

Goldberg was Gov. Almond’s second choice to join the Supreme Court after lawmakers rejected his nomination of Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Curran in early 1997. Goldberg was unanimously confirmed by the Rhode Island Senate May 8 of that year and sworn in on May 30.

She was the third woman to sit on the state’s high court after Victoria Lederberg, who died in 2002. Goldberg would remain the only woman on the bench until 2021 when Gov. Gina Raimondo’s nominees, Erin Lynch Prata and Justice Melissa Long, were sworn in. Together, the three made history as the first female majority on the Rhode Island Supreme Court. 

“I have strived to honor the rule of law in every case that has come before me; always mindful of the good of the Court, the role of a jurist and the parties who are entitled to a fair and impartial judge and a just result based on the facts and the law,” Goldberg wrote in her retirement letter.

Chief Justice Paul Suttell called Goldberg’s retirement “the end of an era,” praising her sharp questioning from the bench and her role in shaping criminal law with respect for law enforcement while safeguarding constitutional rights.

“Justice Goldberg’s impact on the Rhode Island Judiciary cannot be overstated,” he said in a statement. “We look forward to celebrating her illustrious career in the days and months to come.”

House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson issued a joint statement that hailed Goldberg as “a true trailblazer” throughout her legal career.

“Justice Goldberg will go down in history as a true luminary in her field,” they said.

Goldberg’s time on the state’s highest bench spanned seven governors and three chief justices. She noted in her letter that many former law clerks are now judges in Rhode Island — a circumstance she said she was most proud of. One of her former law clerks is Lynch Prata.

Another is now running in the Democratic primary for attorney general. Kim Ahern, who clerked for Goldberg from 2009 to 2010, said her former boss set the highest standards for legal excellence, integrity, and public service.

“Her retirement is an incredible loss for our courts, but her legacy will continue to shape Rhode Island law for generations to come,” Ahern said in a statement Thursday. “Her leadership, guidance, and example opened doors and inspired so many of us to aim higher and serve better.”

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said he was grateful for Goldberg’s counsel over the years.

“Her storied career is one reserved for those with the highest acumen and understanding of what it means to serve the people of our state,” Neronha said in statement “In all her wisdom, Justice Goldberg penned many important and influential decisions in her 35 years on the bench, ensuring her legacy here will outlive all of us.”

Patrick A. Guida, president of the Rhode Island Bar Association, thanked Goldberg for her devotion to the state and justice.

“Justice Goldberg’s impact extends well beyond her written opinions. She has been a steadfast mentor to generations of lawyers, particularly women in the profession, a commitment recognized by the Bar through our Florence K. Murray Award,” Guida said in a statement. “She is also a recipient of the Bar’s Joseph R. Weisberger Judicial Excellence Award, honoring judges who exemplify and encourage the highest standards of competence, integrity, judicial temperament, ethical conduct, and professionalism.”

Goldberg thanked members of Rhode Island’s judiciary — from her colleagues on the Supreme Court and lower trial court judges and magistrates to the support staff — who all keep the courts running.

“I depart my post knowing the judiciary is in good hands,” she wrote.