Rhode Island Chief Justice Nominates Three Traffic Tribunal Magistrates: Providence Police Investigative Commander and House Chief Legal Counsel Named, Senate Confirmation Required
Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island — Chief Justice Paul Suttell on October 30 nominated three new magistrates for the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal. The nominations have been sent to the state Senate and require Senate confirmation.
According to the Providence Journal, judiciary spokesperson Alexandra Kriss confirmed the three nominees: David Lapatin, a Providence police major and commanding officer of the department's investigative division; Eric Batista, an assistant attorney general who has served as chief of the Newport County bureau since 2023; and Nicole McCarty, chief legal counsel to House Speaker Chris Blazejewski.
The Traffic Tribunal hears civil traffic offenses, including Breathalyzer refusal cases and certain Department of Environmental Management offenses, and shares jurisdiction with municipal courts over lesser traffic offenses. In addition to these three, the Senate will consider several other recently nominated magistrates.
Traffic Tribunal magistrates are appointed through nomination by the chief justice and Senate confirmation, Rhode Island's standard judicial appointment path. The nominations come in the final days before the November 3 election, and the report did not say when the Senate will vote on them.
Source: GSM America
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Rhode Island State House (2026)-L1001135。来源：Wikimedia Commons（Frank Schulenburg，CC BY-SA 4.0）
