Hon. Jeanne E. LaFazia is the Chief Judge of the Rhode Island District Court. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Lincoln Almond in 2002.
LaFazia was named Chief Judge of the District Court by former Governor Donald Carcieri in 2010, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Prior to being named Chief Judge, she presided for three years in the 3rd Division District Court in Kent County.
Before joining the judiciary, she was the managing partner at Gunning & LaFazia in Providence, where she practiced alongside her father, Ramond LaFazia.
LaFazia also served as a member of the Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline (1996 to 2002) and the Rhode Island Parole Board (1997 to 2002).
She received a B.A. from Boston University in 1977. LaFazia went on to complete a J.D. at Suffolk University Law School in 1980.
She was admitted to practice in Rhode Island (1980), the United States Supreme Court (1987), Massachusetts (1980), the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island (1980), the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (1980), and the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1980).
LaFazia has sat on the Planning Committee for Judicial Conferences (co-chair), the Code of Judicial Conduct Task Force, the Rhode Island Bar Association’s District Court Bench Bar Committee, and the Pro Bono Collaborative Advisory Board.
She is a graduate of Elmhurst Academy.