Robert G. Flanders Jr. (born July 9, 1949) is an American attorney who is a partner at Whelan Corrente & Flanders. He is also the founder of Flanders and Medeiros. Previously, Flanders served as an

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the Supreme court, court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by ...

from 1996 to 2004.

Early life and education

Flanders was born in 1949 in North Massapequa,

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

and grew up in a middle-class family. His father was a salesman while his mother worked in fast food restaurants. He received his early education from

Chaminade High School Chaminade High School is a Marianist college preparatory high school for boys in Mineola on Long Island, New York. Chaminade’s main campus is also home to Saragossa Retreat Center, one of their three retreat houses. The other retreat houses i ...

Mineola, New York Mineola is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village and the county seat of Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 20,800 at the time of the 2020 United Stat ...

. For his

college education Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

, he went to

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

in 1971 with a major in English. During his college years at Brown, he was elected to

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

and received a prize for an essay he wrote on the

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

Henry Fielding Henry Fielding (22 April 1707 – 8 October 1754) was an English writer and magistrate known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His 1749 comic novel ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' was a seminal work in the genre. Along wi ...

in ''Tom Jones''. As a law student at Harvard, Flanders played minor league baseball for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and served as an editor of the

Harvard Law Record The ''Harvard Law Record'' is an independent student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States. Characteristics The ''Record'', a print and online publication, incl ...

. He graduated from law school in 1974.

Career

In 2004, after eight years of service as a justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, he resigned from the post and joined Hinckley, Allen & Snyder as a partner. In 2011, Governor Lincoln Chafee appointed Flanders as the Central Falls Receiver, tasked with addressing the city's financial distress. As an academic, Flanders has taught

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...

and

judicial process Legal process (sometimes simply process) is any formal notice or writ by a court obtaining jurisdiction over a person or property. Common forms of process include a summons, subpoena, Mandate (criminal law), mandate, and warrant (law), warrant. ...

courses at the Roger Williams University Law School, as a distinguished visiting professor, and at Brown University, as an adjunct assistant professor of law and public policy.

2018 U.S. Senate campaign

Flanders won the Republican party nomination, defeating the only other candidate on the ballot,

Rocky De La Fuente Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente Guerra (born October 10, 1954) is an American businessman who has sought elected office. A perennial candidate, De La Fuente was the Reform Party nominee in the 2016 and 2020 United States presidential elections; he a ...

, a businessman who was seeking to get on the Senate ballot in several states in 2018. As the Republican Party nominee, he participated in the 2018 election for US Senator from Rhode Island. He lost the election to Democratic incumbent,

Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2007 as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 1993 to 1998 as the United States Att ...

Personal life

Flanders grew up in a middle class household and is the oldest of seven children. He is a strong advocate of

separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...

. He and his wife Ann live in

East Greenwich, Rhode Island East Greenwich is a New England town, town and the county seat of Kent County, Rhode Island, Kent County, Rhode Island. The population was 14,312 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within ...

. They have three children.

Bibliography

* Flanders, Jr., Robert G. (2005). ''Rhode Island Evidence Manual''. LexisNexis. * Flanders, Jr., Robert G.; Conley, Patrick (2007). ''The Rhode Island Constitution: A Reference Guide''. Praeger. * Flanders, Jr., Robert G.; Michaelis, Ron C.; Wulff, Paula H. (2008). ''A Litigator's Guide to DNA: From the Laboratory to the Courtroom''. Academic Press. * Flanders, Jr., Robert G. et al. (2017). ''A Practical Guide to Land Use Law in Rhode Island'' * Flanders, Jr., Robert G. et al. (2022). ''Rhode Island Civil and Appellate Procedure with Commentaries''. Thomson/Reuters.

References

External links

Flanders Senate campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flanders, Robert G. Living people 1949 births 20th-century American lawyers Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections Brown University alumni Chaminade High School alumni Harvard Law School alumni Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court People from East Greenwich, Rhode Island People from Nassau County, New York Rhode Island lawyers Rhode Island Republicans Batavia Trojans players Clinton Pilots players Montgomery Rebels players