October 29, 2015
Mary S. McElroy ’87 nominated for federal bench
Mary S. McElroy ’87, Rhode Island’s public defender, at podium above, was nominated in September by President Barack Obama for a federal judgeship.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed and U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, both Rhode Island Democrats, recommended that the president nominate her to the U.S. District Court. Nominees for a federal judgeship then must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
McElroy, an alumnus of the Liberal Arts Honors Program who graduated from Suffolk University Law School with cum laude honors, was the first woman to be named public defender in Rhode Island. She also served as an assistant federal public defender from 2006 to 2012.
