2026 -- H 8049

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LC005514

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- JUDICIAL SELECTION

     Introduced By: Representatives Kislak, Tanzi, Cruz, Handy, and Ajello

     Date Introduced: February 27, 2026

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 8-16.1-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-16.1 entitled "Judicial

Selection" is hereby amended to read as follows:

     8-16.1-4. Criteria for selection of best qualified nominees.

     (a) The commission shall consider, but is not limited to, the following factors in selecting

the best qualified nominees: intellect, ability, temperament, impartiality, diligence, experience,

maturity, education, publications, and record of public, community, and government service. Every

person shall, at the time of consideration by the commission, be an attorney and licensed to practice

law in the state of Rhode Island and be a current member of the Rhode Island bar association in

good standing.

     (b) The commission shall exercise reasonable efforts to encourage racial, ethnic, and

gender diversity within the judiciary of this state. To further this goal, on an annual basis, the

commission shall report to the general assembly and to the governor on (i) the statistics regarding

the race, ethnicity and gender of applicants considered by the commission in the previous year and

(ii) efforts made by the commission during the previous year to encourage racial, ethnic and gender

diversity within the judiciary of this state. The form of the report and the means by which the

commission shall request the necessary information from applicants shall be determined by the

commission pursuant to its rule-making authority, except that no applicant shall be required to

provide the information as a prerequisite to consideration, and the identifying information with

respect to race, ethnicity and gender shall be collected anonymously from applicants. The report

shall be made available to the public. The commission shall also consider the candidate’s sensitivity

to historically disadvantaged classes, and may disqualify any candidate with a demonstrated history

of bias towards any of these classes.

     (c) The commission shall establish a standardized merit-based selection process that

includes an initial blind review of applications prior to any interview or public hearing. Identifying

information, including the applicant’s name and any other information reasonably likely to disclose

the applicant’s identity, shall be redacted for purposes of preliminary evaluation. The commission’s

rules shall require that applicants be evaluated according to uniform, job-related criteria adopted in

advance and published on the commission’s website. The rules shall also require structured

evaluation instruments or scoring rubrics sufficient to demonstrate that recommendations are based

on the published merit criteria.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE -- COURTS -- JUDICIAL SELECTION

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     This act would require the judicial nominating commission to establish a standardized

merit-based selection process that includes an initial blind review of applications prior to any

interview or public hearing and that applicants be evaluated according to uniform, job-related

criteria adopted in advance and published on the commission’s website.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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