Title 8, Title 8 and Civil Procedure — Courts

Within the administrative office of the state courts there shall be a finance section. The director of the finance section shall be appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court, and approved by a majority vote of the advisory board. The director of the finance section shal…

(a) The director of the finance section of the state courts shall establish procedures, in conjunction with the state controller and general treasurer, by which court imposed fines and costs may be paid by credit card presented at the offices of the court clerks. These procedures…

Each quarter the director of finance shall remit to the state controller within the department of administration data that would be necessary to enhance efforts to collect unpaid court imposed or court related fees, fines, court costs, assessments, charges and/or any other moneta…

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the director of the finance section on a quarterly basis shall prepare a list of the one hundred (100) delinquent persons who owe the largest amount of court-imposed or court-related fees, fines, court costs, assessments, charges, a…

(a) There is hereby created a commission to be known as the commission on judicial tenure and discipline, hereinafter referred to as the commission. The commission shall consist of sixteen (16) members: three (3) of whom shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and cons…

(a) No judge who is a member of the commission or of the supreme court shall participate as a member of the commission or the supreme court in any proceeding regarding his or her removal, suspension, immediate temporary suspension, reprimand, retirement, or censure. (b) No member…

The filing of papers with or the giving of testimony before the commission or supreme court shall be privileged in any action for defamation. No other publication of such papers or proceedings shall be so privileged, except any record, pleading, or brief filed by the commission i…

The supreme court shall make and promulgate rules governing the practice and procedure under this chapter before the commission, and the supreme court shall insure the confidentiality of all proceedings involving complaints against a member of the judiciary, except for those proc…

The commission is hereby expressly authorized and permitted to conduct closed meetings for the conduct of all of its business other than public hearings held pursuant to § 8-16-4(c). All evidence obtained by the commission, and all evidence that the judge obtains from the commiss…

Judicial proceedings in aid of or ancillary to a public hearing of the commission shall be open to the public, and all papers filed in connection with such judicial proceedings shall be public documents. All other judicial proceedings in aid of or ancillary to a commission procee…

Any judge who has been complained against under the provisions of this chapter and who has engaged the services of counsel to respond to the complaint, and where the complaint has been dismissed by the commission, shall be entitled to have his or her reasonable counsel fees paid …

Except as otherwise provided, the members of the commission shall serve for terms of three (3) years; provided, however, that the initial appointments shall be so staggered that one of each class of members so appointed shall serve for a term of one year, one for two (2) years, a…

(a) The commission shall meet at such times and places as are necessary to discharge the duties made incumbent upon it under the provisions of this chapter. It shall meet at least once a year in the month of May and shall make an annual report of expenditures to the governor. Nin…

(a) The commission is empowered hereby to engage the services of legal, secretarial, clerical, and investigative employees and to make such other expenditures as are necessary for the effective performance of its functions. (b) The commission, upon receiving from any person a ver…

The members of the commission are hereby severally authorized and empowered to administer oaths; and the commission, in all cases of every nature pending before it, is hereby authorized and empowered to summon and examine witnesses and to compel the production and examination of …

After the commission institutes formal proceedings and schedules a public hearing, the commission and the judge shall be entitled to conduct discovery in the same manner as litigants in civil cases in the superior court, and the superior court rules of civil procedure shall gover…

Whenever a witness refuses, on the basis of his or her privilege against self-incrimination, to answer a question or to produce other evidence of any kind during a preliminary investigation or at a deposition or at a public hearing, the chairperson may, upon a majority vote of a …

Whenever the commission shall make a determination recommending the reprimand, censure, suspension, immediate temporary suspension, removal, or retirement of a member of the judiciary, it shall file forthwith a copy of the recommendation, certified by the chairperson, together wi…

(a) The supreme court may on its own motion and shall upon petition of a judge who has been adversely affected by a recommendation of the commission review the record of the commission’s proceedings on the law and on the facts and may, for the purposes of the review, permit the i…

Whenever the supreme court reviews a commission recommendation for the suspension, immediate temporary suspension, removal, or retirement of a judge other than a justice of the supreme court, the commission may, in its discretion, order the suspension of the judge pending the com…

(a) Whenever the commission shall have recommended reprimand, censure, suspension, immediate temporary suspension, removal, or retirement of a judge from office and filed its findings and recommendations with the chief justice of the supreme court, and those recommendations have …

Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 8-16-6 and 8-16-7, all papers filed with, proceedings before, and decisions of the supreme court on review of a commission recommendation of a private reprimand pursuant to § 8-16-4(d) shall be kept confidential.

(a) The supreme court on its own motion shall suspend, pending the prosecution of an appeal, any judge of any court when it is shown by the certified record of a court of competent jurisdiction that he or she either pleaded guilty or no contest or was found guilty of a crime puni…

(a) Whenever the commission shall, after investigation and hearing, determine that a judge has a physical or mental disability that seriously interfered and will continue to interfere with the performance of his or her duties, it may recommend to the supreme court the retirement …

There is hereby authorized and established a program of litigating civil trials, including domestic relations matters, whereby the litigants, by agreement, may retain the services of any retired justice of the supreme court or superior court or retired judge of the family court o…

It is hereby found and declared as follows: (1) The general assembly has authorized the establishment of municipal courts, in order to promote the health and safety of the residents of each city or town and to insure compliance with any and all local ordinances. (2) In furtheranc…

The universal summons shall also be used for any violations of those sections not listed in § 8-18-3; provided, however that the following violations shall remain the exclusive jurisdiction of the traffic tribunal or the other state courts and shall not be within the jurisdiction…

All municipal courts which shall hear and decide traffic matters pursuant to the authority of this chapter shall do so in a manner consistent with the procedures of the traffic tribunal. If it shall appear to the chief magistrate of the traffic tribunal that said procedures are n…

All state agencies and municipalities that have law enforcement powers shall be issued and authorized a form for summons and complaint to be used for all violations specified in chapters 27, 41.1 and 41.2 of title 31 and no other summons shall be substituted except as provided by…

(a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, jurisdiction over the adjudication of matters relating to violations enumerated in the following sections of the general laws is hereby conferred upon the municipal courts and the traffic tribunal: (b) Except as provided in §§ 8-18-9…

(a) All summonses to be adjudicated by a municipal court shall be forwarded to the municipal court. (b) Summonses to be adjudicated by a municipal court shall be adjudicated by a judge of the municipal court pursuant to § 31-41.1-6 and the rules established by the chief magistrat…

The cities and towns and the state shall enter into an agreement which will authorize the transfer of funds and guarantee against misuse, misdirection, and nontransference of funds owed to the appropriate jurisdiction by means of a financial institution compact.

Cities or towns with municipal courts shall dedicate four dollars ($4.00) for reimbursement from each summons to the general fund. Cities or towns without a municipal court shall dedicate six dollars ($6.00) for reimbursement from each summons to the general fund. State agencies …

All judges of any municipal court which exercises jurisdiction under the provisions of this chapter shall be subject to and governed by the canons of judicial ethics or code of judicial conduct in effect at the time, as prescribed by the Rhode Island supreme court, and the provis…

Any person desiring to appeal from an adverse decision of a municipal court pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may seek review thereof pursuant to the procedures set forth in § 31-41.1-8.

(a) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state of Rhode Island to guarantee the rights of persons who, because of a non-English speaking background, are unable to readily understand or communicate in the English language, and who consequently need the assistance of an in…

As used in this chapter: (1) A “limited-English-proficient person” means any person whose primary language is not English and who does not have the ability to adequately understand or communicate effectively in English. (2) A “qualified interpreter” is a person who is able to int…

(a) When a limited-English-proficient person is a party, or the parent or legal guardian of a party, to a legal proceeding, or an alleged victim in a criminal proceeding, the appointing authority shall appoint a certified interpreter to assist such person during the legal proceed…

Interpreters appointed pursuant to this chapter shall be paid by the state in accordance with a fee schedule that shall be established by the supreme court. The state court administrator is hereby empowered to establish policies and procedures governing the appointment, service, …

The administrative office of state courts, with the approval of the supreme court, shall promulgate standards, criteria, and testing methods for the certification of foreign language interpreters under this chapter. The regulations promulgated shall address but not be limited to:…

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

No interpreter/translator appointed pursuant to this chapter to interpret or translate for limited-English-proficient persons in proceedings before the state courts in Rhode Island shall be called upon to testify concerning any statement(s) and/or confidential communications made…

There is hereby established an incentive pay program in accordance with the provisions of this chapter offering financial compensation to clerks of the supreme, superior, family, district, workers’ compensation court, and the traffic tribunal for furthering their education in the…

(a) Any full time clerk of the supreme, superior, family, district, workers’ compensation court, and the traffic tribunal covered by a collective bargaining agreement in existence on July 5, 1994, and providing for the incentive pay plan under this chapter shall be eligible for t…

Advancement to each of the incentive salary steps shall be based on the following accomplishments in either administration of justice or law enforcement, or a baccalaureate degree acceptable for admission to a law school accredited by the council of Legal Education of the America…

No credit shall be granted for any degree other than in the major concentration of court administration or law enforcement or a baccalaureate degree acceptable for admission to a law school accredited by the council of Legal Education of the American Bar Association.