Romney faces trouble over his judicial picks

Two years after establishing a judicial nominating system that has been hailed as a national model, Governor Mitt Romney is facing intense political turbulence this week over his most recent judicial nominees. His troubles include an announcement yesterday that a Bristol County prosecutor's bid for a judgeship had been put on hold over allegations that were made by her former husband.

Romney administration officials confirmed yesterday that the nomination of the Bristol County first assistant district attorney, Renee P. Dupuis, for a Suffolk County Juvenile Court judgeship had been sent back to the Judicial Nominating Commission. That panel had originally pronounced Dupuis qualified.

The commission, officials said, will review allegations that during a bitter divorce and child custody battle, she had told her husband, ''I should just shoot you."

''They'll carry out their own independent evaluation," Romney said yesterday of the Judicial Nominating Commission. ''I will hold the position open, at least on an interim basis, until they complete that review."

Romney himself, meanwhile, may preside over the meeting this morning of the Governor's Council in an effort to save the nomination of a Springfield lawyer, Henry L. Rigali, for a juvenile court judgeship in Hampden County, in the western part of the state.

Romney's presence would allow Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey to vote on Rigali's nomination, which is opposed by a number of Governor's Council members. They have accused the governor of circumventing his own vetting process.

They also have said that Rigali does not have enough experience in juvenile law.

If the council rejects Rigali's nomination, he would be the first nominee for a trial court judgeship since 1993 to have been barred by the panel.

Legal observers said that while Romney's nominating process, designed to limit political influence, is generally well-regarded, the turmoil shows that the system is not perfect. The Boston Bar Association president, M. Ellen Carpenter, said yesterday that the Dupuis case illustrates how hard it can be for the Judicial Nominating Commission, which reviews judicial applicants, to determine whether a lawyer has the temperament to be a judge without invading his or her privacy.

''It is a very hard line to walk," Carpenter said.

Efforts to reach Dupuis for comment were unsuccessful yesterday.

On her application for a judgeship, Dupuis would have been required to disclose her divorce. Judicial Nominating Commission officials declined to discuss her application, but an official familiar with the nomination said she mentioned the divorce in talks with the Romney administration.

It wasn't until a Boston Herald report over the weekend, however, that the administration had learned that her former husband, State Police Sergeant Barry J. Domingos, had accused her of heavy drinking during the marriage, and said they had had a contentious divorce, the official said.

At a meeting with the administration Monday, Dupuis confirmed that Domingos had made the allegations, but she strongly denied them, the official said. Domingos could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Material from State House News Service was used in this report.