Retired Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Edward C. Clifton has joined the faculty of Roger Williams University Law School, where he will work with students to conduct research on ethnic and racial fairness in the court system.
Clifton, who retired after more than 20 years on the Superior Court bench, has wide legal experience in Rhode Island. Before his appointment to Superior Court, Clifton served as Providence city solicitor, and as a judge on both the Providence Municipal Court and on the Rhode Island District Court.
“Judge Clifton has much to offer our students as well as the entire law school and university community,’’ said Michael Yelnosky, RWU’s law school dean.
Clifton is a U.S. Army veteran and California native. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California – Berkeley and his law degree from UCLA. He began his career as a legal aid lawyer at R.I. Legal Services and worked in private practice before becoming city solicitor in the administration of former Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr. Clifton was tapped for the District Court by then-Gov. Bruce Sundlun in 1993 and to the Superior Court in 1994. He also is a member of the RWU Law School Board of Directors.
