Should a judge whose son is a state employee and whose mother collects a public pension be allowed to decide whether Rhode Island's landmark 2011 pension overhaul is legal?
SARAH TAFT-CARTER
Lawyers for the state asked the Rhode Island Supreme Court Wednesday to block Superior Court Judge Sarah Taft-Carter's decision to remain on the case. Taft-Carter's son is a Rhode Island state trooper and her mother collects a $22,000-a-year death benefit from her late husband, former Cranston Mayor James Taft.
Taft-Carter ruled Nov. 2 that she would not recuse herself from a challenge to the pension overhaul filed by several public-employee unions in June.
John Tarantino, lawyer for the state, argues in court papers filed Wednesday that Taft-Carter's impartiality could reasonably be questioned because "her son and her mother stand to be substantially affected by the decision." Tarantino cites the Rhode Island Supreme Court Code of Judicial Conduct, which says a judge should disqualify himself or herself if a parent or child has an economic interest in a case.
- Poll: Should a judge whose son is a state employee and whose mother collects a public pension be allowed to decide whether Rhode Island's landmark 2011 pension overhaul is legal?
- Read the 110-page Defendants' petition for writ of certiorari
- Read the 122-page Motion to Stay and Supporting Memorandum of Law
From The Journal's archives
- 11.23.2011: High court declines to stop suit by unions: Suit challenging pension benefit cuts returns to Superior Court where a judge's ruling has favored unions
- 7.19.2011: Judge to rule on validity of state pension changes: Unions argue pensions protected by contract; state says legislature has power to make changes
- 7.18.2011: Hearing on union suit: Challenge by eight unions representing state workers and teaches on reductions in pension benefits set for Washington County Superior Court
- 6.19.2011: Courts may have last say on pensions: Judges nationwide have protected pensions, but the right to one is not absolute, they've ruled
Taft-Carter called her son's and mother's financial interest insignificant and said it would not affect her impartiality. Because her son is years away from a pension, the judge said, any economic interest that he has is "remote and speculative."
Tarantino says the pension reform law reduced a state trooper's pension benefits by more than 23 percent, and suspended increases to the $984-a-month cost-of-living allowance paid to Taft-Carter's mother.