PROVIDENCE Four nominees to state court bench are expected to go before the full Senate on Friday after being approved by the state Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
The committee on Tuesday night roundly approved, following glowing testimony, Gov. Gina Raimondo’s nomination of Linda Rekas Sloan and Superior Court Magistrate Richard Raspallo as Superior Court judges; Central Falls Municipal Court Judge Elizabeth Ortiz to the Family Court bench; and Kevin Reall to Workers’ Compensation Court.
If approved by the Senate, Rekas Sloan and Ortiz would make historic firsts in Rhode Island, Rekas Sloan as the first Asian-American to be seated on Superior Court and Ortiz as the first Latina to sit on the court that oversees child custody, divorce and juvenile matters. Both lifetime posts have a $170,545 annual base salary.