Pawtucket Judge Cristine L. McBurney elected President, RI Probate Judges Assoc.

Long-time Pawtucket probate court judge Cristine L. McBurney is the newly elected president of the Rhode Island Probate Judges Association. This is in addition to being a full-time attorney and probate judge in Pawtucket. As president, Judge McBurney will be responsible for overseeing the effort to find solutions to issues facing probate courts throughout the state, and to make suggestions on legislation that is submitted to the General Assembly for consideration.

Judge McBurney’s election as president is a sign of the respect in which she is held by other probate judges.  “The Rhode Island Probate Judges Association could not be in better hands with the Honorable Cristine McBurney at the helm,” stated the Honorable Paula Cuculo, North Providence probate judge and immediate past president of the judge’s association, “I have never seen her put less than 100% of her time, effort and energy into the organizations she supports.  It’s always a pleasure to have her on your team.” 

Judge McBurney will bring over 30 years of experience as Pawtucket’s probate judge to the job. In addition, she has served on the General Assembly’s Commission to Study the Feasibility of Modernizing Probate Law and Procedure, at which she took on the task of modernizing the probate forms to be used throughout the state. City Clerk Richard Goldstein, who has seen the judge in action on the court and also served with her on the commission, believes that Judge McBurney’s commitment to running a very efficient court will make her an outstanding president for the association.  

“Her insistence on doing things in a timely manner and by the book, combined with her compassion and empathy for those appearing before her after the loss of a loved one, has earned her a reputation as one of the finest probate judges in the state and has given the Pawtucket City Council the confidence to reappoint her to the judgeship every two years since 1992.  Those same qualities will make her an outstanding leader for the association.”