PROVIDENCE — A Rhode Island judge on Monday cleared the way for former House speaker Joseph Shekarchi to seek a seat on the Rhode Island Supreme Court, rendering moot the pending case before the Ethics Commission over whether he violated the state’s “revolving door” policy.
Shekarchi, who is still a state representative, stepped down as speaker earlier this year to apply for an opening on the state’s highest court, but quickly faced an ethics complaint from Roger Williams University law professor Michael Yelnosky.
Good government group Common Cause Rhode Island agreed with Yelnosky’s assertion that the revolving door ban, which blocks elected officials from seeking other state employment for a year after leaving office, applied to Shekarchi joining the Supreme Court.
But Superior Court Judge Richard Licht sided with Shekarchi, writing in a ruling Monday that the exception to the rule for officials “seeking or being elected for any constitutional office” gave the former speaker the ability to seek a Supreme Court seat.
Licht had faced his own revolving door questions when he applied to be a judge 13 years ago. He wrote in his decision Monday that lower courts are not considered constitutional offices, meaning the revolving door ban still stands for other judgeships.
The ruling came just in time, as the Judicial Nominating Commission is poised to interview candidates on Tuesday. The final decision on whom to nominate to the powerful seat is up to Governor Dan McKee, and subject to House and Senate confirmation.
Shekarchi was one of the most powerful Democrats in Rhode Island when he was speaker, amassing more than $4 million in his campaign coffers. He was frequently discussed as a potential gubernatorial candidate, but decided against running earlier this year.
“The clear and unambiguous rule of law won today,” Shekarchi said in a statement Monday. “As a practicing attorney for more than 30 years, I always had full confidence in the judicial system and am grateful for today’s court decision reaffirming that elected officials may be considered for appointment to the Rhode Island Supreme Court.”
“The decision ensures that the judicial selection process remains consistent with Rhode Island law and principles of fairness,” he continued." I now look forward to the continuation of the judicial selection process.”
Jason Gramitt, the executive director and chief prosecutor for the Rhode Island Ethics Commission, said the agency would “carefully review the Superior Court’s decision and then, within all applicable filing periods, make a decision as to next steps.”
John Marion, the executive director of Common Cause, urged the commission to appeal the decision.
“If Judge Licht’s decision stands, Common Cause Rhode Island will give strong consideration to pursuing a constitutional amendment to enact a revolving door which will once again stop members of the General Assembly from using their current office to gain an unfair advantage when pursuing a seat on our state’s highest court,” Marion said.
The revolving door ban, enacted in 1992, was meant to prevent legislators from using their powerful positions to land other state jobs.
Yelnosky, who filed the complaint against Shekarchi, said the legislature runs the risk of becoming too powerful among the three branches of government if lawmakers can jump straight to judgeships, where they would rule on laws being passed by their former colleagues.
“When you’re hot off the most powerful position in the state ... you have a lot of juice,” Yelnosky said. “You need the three branches of government to be separated in a way that keeps any one of them from being too powerful.”
The one-year cooling off period helps, Yelnosky argues, as former speakers have far less sway a year after they leave office.
Shekarchi is not the only lawmaker who has made the jump from the legislature to a high court judgeship. Supreme Court Justice Erin Lynch Prata was the Senate Judiciary chair when she successfully applied for a seat on the Supreme Court.
Lynch Prata did seek an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission before applying for the seat. The commission’s staff found that her application would violate the revolving door ban, but the commission voted against adopting the opinion.
The commission now has a new slate of members, which could have decided differently in Shekarchi’s case, had the court not intervened.
Other than Shekarchi, the other four candidates under consideration by the Judicial Nominating Commission are Christopher Bush, Judge Laureen D’Ambra, Judge Luis Matos, and John Roberts.
The candidates will be interviewed publicly at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at the Department of Administration in Providence.
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.