PROVIDENCE – Gov. Daniel J. McKee on Friday appointed six judicial nominees for R.I. Senate approval to fill vacancies on the R.I. Superior Court, R.I. District Court and R.I. Workers’ Compensation Court.
Christopher K. Smith and Joseph J. McBurney were both nominated for judgeships for the Superior Court; Magistrate James Patrick O’Neill, Debra Saunders and Nicholas J. Parrillo each were nominated for the District Court; and Moira E. Reynolds was nominated to the Workers’ Compensation Court.
“It is an honor to appoint these six judges who will play a critical role in serving Rhode Island’s court system,” McKee said. “I know that with their combined decades of experience, they will fairly uphold the laws and values of Rhode Island. I thank the Judicial Nominating Committee for sending us a strong selection of qualified candidates.”
Smith, a graduate of Hamilton College, Roger Williams University School of Law and University of Oregon School of Law, has served as an associate judge in the District Court since 2019. He was previously the chief of the District Court Division for the R.I. Public Defender’s Office. Smith also serves as an adjunct professor at Roger Williams University, sits on the board of directors for Crossroads Rhode Island and is a member of the Engeye Scholars Advisory Board.
McBurney has been nominated to fill the vacancy on the Superior Court left by Judge Netti C. Vogel. A graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law and The Catholic University of America, McBurney currently serves as an assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division in the R.I. Office of the Attorney General. He also is an instructor at the R.I. Municipal Police Training Academy, R.I. State Police Training Academy and the Providence Police Training Academy.
O’Neill, who has been nominated to fill the seat vacated by Judge Elaine Bucci, has more than 24 years of experience, including five years as a District Court magistrate and 10 years in the R.I. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2015. He is a graduate of Colby College and Roger Williams University School of Law.
Saunders, a graduate of the Suffolk University School of Law and Providence College, served as clerk for the R.I. Supreme Court and has more than 25 years of legal experience. She previously served as Supreme Court deputy general counsel, a special assistant attorney general, and in private practice. She is a long-standing member of numerous Supreme Court committees, including the Committee on Character and Fitness and the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee, and is a member of the National Conference of Bar Examiners.
Parrillo is a graduate of Rhode Island College and Roger Williams University School of Law. After law school, Parrillo served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Paul Suttell of the R.I. Supreme Court and then served as a public defender for five years before going into private practice as a criminal defense lawyer. Parrillo also serves as an elected committee member to the Rhode Island Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys and as a member of the Justinian Law Society of Rhode Island.
Reynolds, a graduate of Providence College and Suffolk University School of Law, has been staff counsel to the Beacon Mutual Insurance Co. for the past two decades.
