U.S. Senate Judiciary approves RI Public Defender Montecalvo for federal appeals court

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary on Thursday approved Public Defender Lara Montecalvo’s nomination to the federal appeals court.

The vote was 12 to 10 with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina the lone Republican voting along with all Democrats on the committee in support of Montecalvo to fill the vacancy created by 1st U.S. Circuit Judge O. Rogeriee Thompson assuming senior status.

Montecalvo's nomination now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

Montecalvo, who has backing from Rhode Island’s law enforcement and legal community, received a "well qualified" rating from a substantial majority of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary.

Previous coverage: U.S. Senate Judiciary considers RI Public Defender Montecalvo for federal appeals court bench

In urging support for Montecalvo, Whitehouse told his colleagues that she had earned widespread support, in part, due to her “outstanding expertise” as appellate chief in the Rhode Island Public Defender’s Office.

“At the end of the day you don’t get that kind of support unless you are what we call in Rhode Island ‘good people,’ and Lara Montecalvo is good people, very well regarded and in her expertise, her demeanor and her work ethic, she will be a welcome addition to the 1st Circuit,” Whitehouse said.

Montecalvo was nominated by President Biden in April at the recommendation of U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse to replace Thompson, the appellate court’s first Black female judge. She is among a number of public defenders Biden has nominated to the federal judiciary.

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Montecalvo, 48, of Barrington, has led the Rhode Island Public Defender’s office since 2020 after rising through the ranks and serving as chief of the appellate division. The state public defender’s office provides legal representation for Rhode Islanders who cannot afford to hire a lawyer in criminal, juvenile and parental rights cases.

Montecalvo previously worked as a trial lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. She is married to Craig V. Montecalvo, with whom  she has a young son.

The 1st Circuit hears appeals from the United States District Courts for the Districts of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RI public defender Lara Montecalvo nomination OKd by Senate Judiciary