Paul Suttell (born January 10, 1949) is the chief justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial No ...

. Suttell graduated from the

Moses Brown School Moses Brown School is an independent Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, offering pre-kindergarten through secondary school classes. It was founded in 1784 by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, and is one of the oldest prepara ...

in Providence, Rhode Islan

He then attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, from which he graduated in 1971. He received his J.D. degree from

Suffolk University Law School Suffolk University Law School (also known as Suffolk Law School) is the private, non-sectarian law school of Suffolk University located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, across the street from the Boston Common and the Freedom Trail, two block ...

in 1976. He began his legal career in Pawtucket with the firm of Crowe, Chester & Adams, and then as an associate with Beals & DiFiore in Providence from 1978 to 1990. He served as legal counsel to the House Minority Leader in the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

from 1979 to 1982. Suttell served in the

between 1982 and 1990 as a member of the Republican Party, representing a district that encompassed Little Compton and portions of Tiverton and Portsmouth. In his second term, he was elected by his colleagues as Deputy Minority Leader and served in that capacity until 1990. During his tenure in the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower house, lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 re ...

, he served on the House Committees on the Judiciary, Corporations, and Special Legislation, the Joint Committees on the Environment and the Arts, and the Agricultural Land Preservation Commission, the Newport County Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Lottery Commission. In 1988, he was elected as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

in New Orleans. On July 9, 1990, Suttell was appointed by Governor Edward D. DiPrete as an associate justice of the Rhode Island Family Court. During his time on the trial bench, he presided over the juvenile wayward and delinquency, child abuse and neglect, termination of parental rights, and domestic calendars. After serving for thirteen years on the Rhode Island Family Court, Suttell was appointed by Governor Donald L. Carcieri as an associate justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court on July 9, 2003. Governor Carcieri also appointed him as the chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court effective July 16, 2009. Suttell is a

Little Compton, Rhode Island Little Compton is a coastal town in Newport County, Rhode Island, bounded on the south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by the Sakonnet River, on the north by the town of Tiverton, and on the east by the town of Westport, Massachusetts. The pop ...

resident and serves on numerous community and nonprofit organizations. He was the moderator and former chairman of the Trustees of the Little Compton United Congregational Church and a past president of both the Little Compton Historical Society and Sakonnet Preservation Association. Currently, he is a director of the Historical Society.

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1949 births Living people 21st-century American judges Chief Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Republican Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Moses Brown School alumni Northwestern University alumni Suffolk University Law School alumni {{US-state-judge-stub