PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Governor Carcieri has begun sending out invitations for the swearing-in of new judges, including his former chief of staff Brian Stern, who is headed to the Superior Court after winning Senate confirmation last week.

Stern's swearing-in has been scheduled for 1 p.m. October 5, in the State House Rotunda.

Court spokesman Craig Berke said the official elevation of Superior Court Judge Alice Gibney to the position of presiding justice of the state's major trial court has been scheduled for October 1.

With the new jobs come raises. Gibney's pay will increase from $168,770 including longevity, as an associate justice, to $185,648. Stern's pay increases from $145,085 as chief of staff, to $147,674, with a raise to $154,706 November 22 when he qualifies under state rules for his next longevity bonus.

Some of the newly-confirmed judges have more experience in Rhode Island's courts than others, such as Stern, who has spent his entire Rhode Island legal career in Rhode Island state government.

But no worry.

Berke said all new judges have a learning curve, so this is how it typically works:
"An experienced judge is assigned as a mentor to a new judge. The new judge typically will spend his or her first couple of weeks observing in the courtrooms and chambers of the mentor judge and other judges. It is largely up to the new judge and his or her mentor, along with the chief judge of the court, to determine when the new judge is ready to take the bench.

"Then the roles are reversed, with the new judge on the bench and the mentor observing and later offering advice. The courts try to send new judges to the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada within the first year of their appointments for a 12-day course designed for new judges,'' Berke said.

In response to repeated inquiries, the governor's office has confirmed that swearing-in ceremonies have also been scheduled for J. Terence Houlihan to become a District Court judge, at 1 p.m. on Oct. 13 in the State House rotunda, and for John E. McCann III, to become a Family Court judge, at 1 p.m. on Oct. 15 in the rotunda.
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