2023 Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger Judicial Excellence Award
| Jurisdiction | Rhode Island,United States |
| Pages | 0015 |
| Citation | Vol. 72 No. 1 Pg. 0015 |
| Publication year | 2023 |
July, 2023
Named in honor of its first recipient, retired Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger, this Award is given to a Rhode Island jurist for exemplifying and encouraging the highest level of competence, integrity, judicial temperament, ethical conduct, and professionalism.
Hon. Maureen McKenna Goldberg, Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, is honored with the 2023 Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger Judicial Excellence Award. Justice Goldberg was born in Pawtucket, and grew up in a family of seven children in East Providence. Following her graduation from St. Mary Academy Bay View, she attended Salve Regina University, then transferred to Providence College when it began accepting women as undergraduates in 1971, graduating cum laude in 1973. She then taught reading and social studies to third and fourth graders at an inner-city elementary school in Providence.
Justice Goldberg attended Suffolk University Law School, earning her Doctor of Law degree with honors in 1978. She worked as a prosecutor for RI Attorney General Dennis Roberts. She was one of two women appointed Assistant Attorney General, a first for the state. She later became the Administrator in the criminal division. After her service in state government, she worked in private practice with a concentration on representing the State and its municipalities. Gov. Edward D. DiPrete appointed her to the Rhode Island Superior Court in 1990 as an Associate Justice. In 1997, she was appointed to the Supreme Court by Gov. Lincoln C. Almond, becoming the third woman to serve. Justice Goldberg has been a Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court for 25 years. She holds five honorary degrees and is the recipient of numerous awards recognizing her service to the Judiciary.
Justice Goldberg is honored and humbled to receive the Chief Justice Joseph R. Weisberger Judicial Excellence Award, whose high standards of judicial excellence, integrity and professionalism are unparalleled. She is especially pleased to have been nominated for this award by many of her former law clerks, whose friendships and affection are joyful.
According to Attorney Cassandra Feeney, Justice Goldberg has broken down so many barriers, boldly marched through, and turned around and invited other females to follow. She encourages us all to remember that when we...
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