Commission considers Shekarchi for Supreme Court vacancy

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Former House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi and four other applicants went before the Judicial Nominating Commission Tuesday hoping for a spot on the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Shekarchi got one step closer to the state's highest court one day after a Superior Court judge ruled he did not violate the state's Code of Ethics by applying for the vacant seat. State prosecutor Christopher Bush, Family Court Judge Laureen D'Ambra, Superior Court Judge Luis Matos and attorney John Roberts also applied for the job. "All I want to do is be judged on the merits, like every other candidate," Shekarchi said. Roger Williams University law professor Michael Yelnosky, who filed the ethics complaint against Shekarchi, asked the commission again not to advance his application.

Missing media or need the complete publisher report? Open WPRI.com

Scoop News DeskProvidence, Rhode Island area (publisher market; exact incident location not stated) · Published Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at 10:45 PM UTCUpdated Wednesday, July 29, 2026 at 2:10 AM UTC

Scoop News reporting summary

The text below was supplied by the Scoop Newsroom app. Third-party reporting is attributed in the source panel.

Yelnosky argued that Shekarchi violated the state's revolving-door law, which bars lawmakers from accepting certain state jobs within a year of leaving office. "Those of you have sat on the commission know that applicants often go before you repeatedly before their time is right and they warrant your support," Yelnosky said. "But the time is not right for Shekarchi because there's too many questions and concerns about his transition to the bench." The commission deliberated behind closed doors for a couple of hours and decided to send all five candidates' names to Gov.

Breaking news moves fast. Follow @Will466513 on X for breaking news alerts. Follow on X →

Story timeline