In 2009,
Rhode Island Governor
Donald L. Carcieri nominated Stern for a lifetime appointment to serve as an associate justice on
Rhode Island's Superior Court. The Superior court is a
trial level court with general
jurisdiction over criminal
felony matters, and civil cases where the
amount in controversy exceeds $10,000 or the claims are brought in
equity. Stern was appointed to the Superior Court's Business Calendar in 2011, and remains a Business Calendar judge (as of 2024). He became the senior Business Calendar judge in 2019, upon the retirement of Associate Justice
Michael A. Silverstein. The Business Calendar is a specialized
business court program within the Superior Court, created by administrative order in 2001 by
Presiding Justice Joseph F. Rogers, Jr., and shaped by Rogers and Silverstein. It is designed to handle complex business and commercial litigation, as well as business
insolvencies. It is one of the oldest business court programs in the United States. In 2020, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Stern initiated the creation of a Business Calendar program known as "The Business Recovery Plan." This plan was created and designed to help businesses suffering from the pandemic's economic effects that were causing severe income losses and the inability to timely pay creditors. The plan utilized a non-liquidating
receivership model to keep businesses afloat, providing an opportunity to work with creditors to stabilize their business until they could eventually generate income and pay creditors. This recovery plan had an effect beyond Rhode Island. At a minimum, it inspired
Philadelphia Judge
Gary S. Glazer to implement a similar program in
Philadelphia's Commerce Case Management Program, another American business court. Nationally, Stern is a director of the American College of Business Court Judges. Stern's notable cases include, among others: the 2017 murder trial of Christian Lepore; an internal dispute among the family of Malcolm "Kim" Chace, at one time the wealthiest person in Rhode Island; overseeing the receivership of the St. Joseph Hospital employee pension fund; a suit by the parent company of the
Houston Rockets basketball team for insurance coverage from
FM Global during the COVID-19 pandemic; the
liquidation of the Central Coventry Fire District; the state's demands for over $15 million in medical payments from
Prospect Medical Holdings; and the receivership and sale of
Westerly Hospital, which was recognized as a Deal of the Year. == Government and private legal career ==