(Providence, RI) -- The state Ethics Commission refused to throw out a complaint against Rhode Island Supreme Court Justice Francis Flaherty on Tuesday. The complaint claims Flaherty should have disclosed his position as the head of the St. Thomas More Society of Rhode Island, a non-profit group that promotes Catholic legal work, when he ruled on an appeal of a priest sexual abuse lawsuit against the Catholic bishop of Providence. According to a report from The Providence Journal, the hearing was contentious, with Flaherty's attorney arguing that Ethics Commission chair Ross Cheit should recuse himself because he has written blog posts critical of the Catholic Church. The Journal report indicates the commission could hold the equivalent of a public trial for the complaint this winter.