Born in
Providence, Rhode Island, Bourcier served in the U.S. Navy during
World War II, and thereafter graduated from
Brown University and
Vanderbilt University Law School. After spending two decades as a trial lawyer in private practice, he was appointed as a judge to the Rhode Island Superior Court in 1974 and the Rhode Island Supreme Court in 1995. While on the Superior Court, his decisions were upheld by the state Supreme Court 93% of the time. ==Death==