PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A judicial swearing-in ceremony for fellow Newport lawyer J. Terence Houlihan produced a rare Jeffrey Teitz sighting at the Rhode Island State House Tuesday.

A one-time chairman of the Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee, Teitz moved to the Washington, D.C. political arena in the 1990s to work for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Teitz has most recently been chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that Kennedy had chaired, one of the committees at the center of the national health care debate.

After Kennedy's death in August, Sen. Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa, succeeded him as chairman, stating his intent "to carry on the legacy of Senator Ted Kennedy, who dedicated his life to ensuring that our economy works for all Americans, guaranteeing every child the opportunity to pursue a quality education and, of course, the cause of his life: access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans.''

While standing in line, waiting his turn to congratulate Houlihan in the state room of the Rhode Island State House, Teitz explained his ongoing role with the Senate health committee. He said "the new chairman of the committee, Sen. Harkin, has asked the senior staff, including me, to stay on and I expect to be doing that for the foreseeable future...We certainly have a lot of very important projects underway, and I want to see them through.''

Houlihan was sworn in as the state's newest District Court judge. Teitz's own name surfaces from time to time as a potential candidate for a federal judgeship.