PROVIDENCE – U.S. District Court Judge Ernest C. Torres has announced plans to retire from the bench.
He will step down “as soon as he is able to complete work on those things that need to be done to ensure an orderly departure,” according to a Dec. 18 statement by the court.
In his 21 years on the bench, he has overseen several high-profile cases, including the 2002 corruption trial of former Providence Mayor Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci.
Torres was nominated for the judgeship in 1987, by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1987. He assumed senior status on the bench for the U.S. District Court, Rhode Island District, in December 2006. •
