Hon. Justice Walter R. Stone, fondly and respectfully remembered as a noted civil rights activist and one of Rhode Island's most respected trial and criminal lawyers before his elevation to the Rhode Island Superior Court bench, where his wit, his intelligence and his understanding and compassion for the human condition was a testament and great benefit to the Judiciary, attorneys and the citizens of Rhode Island.  

Judge Stone served honorably as a U.S. Marine combat veteran during the Vietnam War, receiving a Purple Heart. A proud graduate of Tennessee State University and Fisk University and Case Western Reserve Law School, he served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Rhode Island before becoming a founding Partner of the Providence-based firm of Stone, Clifton and Clifton, later becoming a partner at Adler, Pollock and Sheehan. He was also a career-long trailblazer for the African American legal diaspora in New England. His other accomplishments were innumerable, including serving as a noted political activist with the Democratic Party, delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention and early supporter of President Barack Obama.  

Judge Stone was also the longtime legal counsel to the International Boxing Federation, maintaining a lifelong passion for the sport and the spirit of competition. Judge Stone is also honored among the founding members of Rhode Island’s Thurgood Marshall Law Society, a ceaseless advocate and supporter of our mission, and of the critical importance of constant support, development and vigilance with respect to fomenting minority participation in the legal fields, for which he was honored at the 2017 Diversity Symposium dinner cosponsored by the TMLS and Roger Williams University School of Law.