Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

"Any of the five candidates whose names were forwarded to me could well serve our citizens as magistrates on the Traffic Tribunal," Williams said in the statement.

"In David Cruise, we have an individual whose years of public service in both Rhode Island and in Washington have been outstanding. From the General Assembly, to the Governor's Office, to the U.S. Department of Commerce, he has consistently proven himself as a quick study, a conscientious, tireless worker who has served the public well," Williams said.

Williams called Goulart "an individual with eminent qualifications gained during his 17 years of prosecuting cases in the Attorney General's Office, culminating most recently as the chief of the criminal division. Prior to his service with the Attorney General's Office, Mr. Goulart served three years as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Navy."

The chief justice last year received authority from the legislature to appoint Traffic Tribunal magistrates. A three-member Magistrate Selection Committee, whose chairman was Traffic Tribunal Associate Judge Edward C. Parker, interviewed five candidates, including Cruise and Goulart, on June 5 and solicited written public comment.

The committee considered, but did not re-interview, four candidates who had applied for chief magsitrate last fall.