WPRO News

President Joe Biden today named the Rhode Island Public Defender Lara Montecalvo to a seat on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, an appointment that requires Senate confirmation.

Montecalvo assumed the role as the state’s Chief Public Defender in 2020, after her predecessor, Mary McElroy was appointed as a judge on the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island in 2019 by President Donald Trump.

A Barrington resident, Montecalvo, 48, has extensive experience in both civil and criminal cases, and has practiced in every court in Rhode Island, according to a statement from Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, who recommended her to President Biden for the seat on the appeals court to replace fellow Rhode Islander O. Rogeriee Thompson, who is retiring and will assume senior status.

The appeals court is based in Boston, and hears appeals of federal cases from Rhode Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Puerto Rico.

Montecalvo received her J.D., magna cum laude from Boston College Law School in 2000 and her B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1996.

Montecalvo’s appointment was announced Wednesday by the White House along with four others; one to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and District Court judgeships for Virginia, New York and the District of Columbia.