RHODE ISLAND, August 12 - Published on Wednesday, August 12, 2026
PROVIDENCE, RI — Governor Dan McKee today nominated Judge Luis Matos to serve on the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
After a rigorous vetting process, Judge Matos was chosen from five highly qualified candidates brought forward by the Judicial Nominating Committee.
“Judge Matos is a Rhode Island success story who has served both his country and home state with distinction, and I am honored to nominate him to the Rhode Island Supreme Court,” said Governor McKee.
Judge Matos began his legal career at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., where he served as a trial and appellate attorney, representing the United States’ interests before the Federal Court of Claims. He transferred to the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, where he served as an Assistant United States Attorney focusing on criminal and civil health care fraud prosecutions, eventually becoming the National Health Care Fraud Coordinator. He was awarded the prestigious Director’s Award for his outstanding performance.
In 2001, he returned to Rhode Island to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island, representing the state and the nation in prosecuting health care fraud, white-collar crime, and public corruption. While there, Judge Matos served in numerous supervisory capacities, including as Chief of the Civil Division, Chief of the Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney, and Acting United States Attorney. He was a recipient of Rhode Island Lawyer’s Weekly Lawyer of the Year award as well as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General’s Integrity Award.
Since 2012, Judge Matos has served with distinction as an Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Superior Court. He has covered all the Court’s calendars and has handled both civil and criminal matters. Judge Matos has garnered a reputation on the Court as a hardworking, open-minded, and thoughtful jurist.
Chief Justice Paul Suttell appointed Judge Matos to the Committee on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Rhode Island Courts (CREF). As an outgrowth of his work on CREF, the Judge became heavily involved in a program to waive, reduce, or remit court costs for indigent defendants. To date, he has heard petitions from more than 650 people and remitted over $1.2 million in court costs.
Born in Batalha, Portugal, Matos emigrated with his family to Providence at age five and learned to speak English in a bilingual program at Fox Point Elementary School. After graduating from LaSalle Academy in Providence, he became the first in his family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and a law degree from the University of Connecticut.
“I am deeply honored and humbled at the opportunity to continue to serve the people and State of Rhode Island,” said Matos. “I am grateful to Governor McKee for his confidence, and I look forward to the work ahead.”
As a Supreme Court Justice nominee, Judge Matos will undergo the Advice and Consent process from both the Rhode Island House of Representatives and the Rhode Island Senate.
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