Records.

As amended through April 4, 2024

Records.

R.P. 3.1. DOCKETING

All cases shall be docketed and numbered consecutively in the classes to which they respectively belong. The classes will include the following: Civil Actions; Indictments and Informations; Criminal Appeals; Appeals other than Criminal; Miscellaneous Petitions and Proceedings.

R.P. 3.2. CLERK NOTES

The travel of each case assigned for motion, conference, hearing or trial shall be recorded by the clerk on separate forms for each event. These clerk notes shall be filed with the case file and are part of the record.

R.P. 3.3. MATTERS NOT FOR PUBLICATION

Matters of record which are sealed by the court pursuant to statute or court order shall not be furnished by the court for publication or given out for inspection to any one except as provided by statute, by these Rules of Practice as specified herein, or by order of the court.

Whenever a child victim is identified in any child molestation sexual assault case filed on or after July 20, 1998, a dual filing system shall be established for that case. During the prosecution and disposition of such a case, a "public file" and a "confidential court file" shall be maintained. The public file shall contain the charging document (indictment, information, or application filed in accordance with the Rhode Island post-conviction relief statute, R.I.G.L. 10-9.1-1 ) with the name and identifying information of the child victim redacted. "Redaction" is defined as the obliteration of victim-identifying information in the documents placed in the public file. The name and address of the victim shall be redacted along with any familial-identifying information such as the relationship, if any, between the child victim and the accused. A fictitious name may be substituted for the victim's actual name.

Such redaction or substitution shall be carried out by the party placing the material on file, e.g., the Office of the Attorney General in criminal cases and the plaintiff or other party placing material on file in related civil suits. When applicable, a party submitting material that identifies a victim shall submit two (2) versions of each document to be placed on file: one version from which all victim-identifying information has been redacted or made fictitious, to be placed in the public file; a second version of the same document, unredacted, to be placed in the confidential court file. The foregoing does not preclude the submission, when appropriate, of two (2) identical copies of a non-victim identifying document, one of which is to be placed in the public file and one in the confidential court file.

The public file shall not include in any form, redacted or otherwise, victim-specific documents relating to the child victim that are otherwise confidential in accordance with statute or policy. Such excluded documents include, but are not limited to, school records, medical records, reports from the Department of Children, Youth and Families, reports or records of counselors, therapists, and social workers, or other similar victim-specific documents which are privileged by law or custom. All other documents, not victim-specific, shall be placed in the public file, in redacted form as necessary in accordance with this rule.

R.P. 3.4. PARTITION PLATS

All plate of partition of real estate required by law to be filed in the clerk's office shall be on white drawing paper mounted on cloth and of the size of 31 x 20 inches. If necessary a plat may consist of two (2) or more such sheets.

R.P. 3.5. TRANSCRIPTS

(a)Orders for transcript. An order for transcript filed in the office of the Superior Court administrator will be received only when accompanied by a check or cash in the full amount as determined by the court reporters' estimate.

Requests for transcripts ordered by the court at state expense must be accompanied by a copy of the signed court order.

Orders for transcripts when parties have agreed to share costs will be received only when accompanied by a check or cash in the full amount covering the estimated cost as determined by the court reporter. Arrangements as to prorating costs shall be completed privately by the parties.

(b) In proceedings to appeal to the Supreme Court, the Superior Court shall allow not more than sixty (60) days for the delivery of the transcript to the clerk of the Supreme Court.

(c) If the transcript is not delivered by the court reporter to the clerk of the Supreme Court within the sixty (60) days or lesser period, the trial Justice in the Superior Court, or in his or her absence any justice of said court, may extend the time for the delivery of such transcript to the Clerk of the Supreme Court for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days from the date of the filing of the claim of appeal.

(d) If the transcript is not delivered to the Clerk of the Supreme Court within the sixty (60) days or lesser period and it becomes necessary to extend the time for such delivery, said court reporter shall retire from service in the court upon the termination of the trial in which said court reporter shall be then engaged, and shall not resume such service in said court until said transcript shall have been delivered to the Clerk of the Supreme Court; provided that the Presiding Justice of the Superior Court, or, in his or her absence, any justice of said court designated by him or her, if the business of the court requires, may order said court reporter at any time to resume service in said court.

(e) Each court reporter of the court and court reporter for occasional service shall file in the Office of the Court Administrator on the 15th day of each month a complete list of all cases from any county ordered transcribed and uncompleted by said court reporter, with the date of order and extension or extensions allowed by the court.

(f) Within ten (10) days after filing the notice of appeal, the appellant shall order from the court reporter the entire transcript or parts thereof and shall deposit with the Office of the Court Administrator the estimated cost for preparing said transcript.

(g) Upon the filing of the transcript with the Clerk of the Supreme Court, the court reporter shall obtain from said clerk evidence of such filing which shall forthwith be delivered to the Office of the Court Administrator. Thereafter, the Office of the Court Administrator shall forthwith notify the Clerk of the Superior Court of the filing of the transcript in the Office of the Clerk of the Supreme Court. Whereupon the Clerk of the Superior Court shall forthwith prepare a certified copy of the docket entries prepared by the clerk of the trial court and transfer said records to the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

(h) Immediately after the court reporter files the transcript with the Clerk of the Supreme Court, said court reporter shall notify the person ordering the transcript of its filing in the Supreme Court. Said person ordering the transcript shall thereafter notify all other parties and/or attorneys representing parties of the filing of the transcript with the Clerk of the Supreme Court.

(i) The Presiding Justice of the Superior Court shall oversee all matters pertaining to the court reporters of the Superior Court.

R. P. 3.6. REMOVAL OF INACTIVE CASES FROM FILES

The clerks for the several counties are hereby authorized from time to time in their discretion to remove from the active files in the files in their offices and to transfer to inactive files to be maintained elsewhere under their direction in the county courthouses or at such other place as may be authorized by the court, the papers in all cases which have been pending upon any docket for five (5) years or longer and which appear to have become inactive. The papers in any case so transferred may be at any time upon motion of a party or in the clerk's discretion returned to the active file.

R. P. 3.7. FLAT FILING

The files in the clerk's office shall be kept under the system commonly known as "flat filing." All papers presented for filing should be 8 1/2" x 11" so far as possible, not folded and without legal "backs" attached. Caption, number of case, attorneys' name, address, identification number and telephone number should appear on the face of papers filed. Papers should have typewriting on the face only.

R. P. 3.8. INDICTMENTS

Original indictments are to be kept in the file folders of each case.

R. P. 3.9. NOTATION OF ASSIGNMENTS WHEN CLOSING CASES

Counsel when filing orders or agreements disposing of pending actions, other than in open court or at a pretrial conference, are required to note on said order or agreement whether the case stands assigned for trial.