Rule 1 - Scope of Rules and Mandatory Electronic Filing(a)Scope of Rules. These rules govern the procedure for all matters in the Family Court pursuant to Chapter 19 of Title 16 and Chapter 1 of Title 14 of the General Laws, known as the Family Court Act. The rules also govern matters pursuant to Chapter 11 of Title 40 of the General Laws pertaining to abused and neglected children and matters pursuant to Chapter 7 of Title 15 of the General Laws pertaining to adoption and termination of parental rights. These rules shall be known as the Rhode Island Rules for Juvenile Proceedings and may be cited as R.Juv.P.
(b)Initial Filing.(1)Charging of Offenses - For delinquency and waywardness cases, the Office of the Attorney General, authorized law enforcement agency, authorized truant officer, or other appropriate person as defined in G.L. 1956 § 14-1-3(2) (hereinafter collectively referred to as the petitioner) shall initiate a juvenile case at the Family Court clerk's office in the county in which the offense was committed by the filing of a petition.(2)Filing of Petitions - For dependency, neglect, abuse, termination of parental rights, and adoption cases, the petitioner shall initiate a juvenile case in the county in which the child resides through electronic filing.(c)Mandatory Electronic Filing. In accordance with Article X of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules Governing Electronic Filing, electronic filing is mandatory for subsequent pleadings filed after the initial charging of a Family Court juvenile case by using the Rhode Island Judiciary's (Judiciary) Electronic Filing System. Except for incarcerated individuals who are self-represented or where a waiver is granted in accordance with Article X, Rule 3(c), all parties are required to use the Judiciary's Electronic Filing System. Self-represented litigants may electronically file documents in accordance with Article X, Rule 3(b) but are not required to do so. The R.Juv.P. must be read in conjunction with Article X, the Rhode Island Judiciary Rules of Practice Governing Public Access to Electronic Case Information, and the Rhode Island Judiciary User Guide for Electronic Filing.
(1)Definitions. For further definitions, see Article X, Rule 1(c) of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules Governing Electronic Filing. (A)Case Management System (CMS). An electronic document repository database maintained and managed by the Judiciary and administered by the respective courts to track information used to manage the courts' caseload, such as case numbers, party names and identifiers, attorneys for parties, titles of all documents filed in a case, and all scheduled events in a case. (B) Certificate of Service. Where the R.Juv.P. requires service of a document to be certified by an attorney of record or a self-represented litigant, the following certification may be used:CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that, on the_______day of_____________________,_______:
[] I filed and served this document through the electronic filing system on the following:_________________________________________________________. The document electronically filed and served is available for viewing and/or downloading from the Rhode Island Judiciary's Electronic Filing System.
[] I served this document through the electronic filing system on the following:_________________________________________________________. The document electronically served is available for viewing and/or downloading from the Rhode Island Judiciary's Electronic Filing System.
[] I mailed or [] hand-delivered this document to the attorney for the opposing party and/or the opposing party if self-represented, whose name is _______________________________________________at the following address ______________________________________________________________________________. /s/ NAME__________________________
(C)Electronic Filing System (EFS).An approved Judiciary-wide system for the filing and service of pleadings, motions, and other documents or information via electronic means such as the Internet, a court-authorized remote service provider, or through other remote means to and from the Judiciary's CMS.(D) Filing. Where the R.Juv.P. require a document to be filed in a Family Court case, filing shall mean the electronic transmission of a document in electronic form to or from a court or clerk through the Judiciary's EFS or scanned and filed into the Judiciary's CMS at the clerk's office.(E)Notice. Where the R.Juv.P. require notice to be given, notice shall mean electronic notice using the EFS unless stated otherwise.(F)Registered User. An individual or entity with an assigned username and password authorized by the Judiciary to access and utilize the EFS.(G)Rhode Island Judiciary Public Portal (Public Portal). An online service provided and maintained by the Judiciary which is the point of entry for electronic access to case information from the Judiciary's database whether at the courthouse or remotely. The database is an electronic collection of court records displayed as a register of actions or docket sheet. The register of actions or docket sheet lists parties, case events, document filings, or other activities in a case set forth in chronological order. (H)Service. Where the R.Juv.P. require a document or information to be served, sent, delivered, or forwarded, the following shall be applicable: (i) Subpoenas, petitions, or other documents that must be hand-delivered or served in person with a summons shall not be served electronically; and(ii) All other service or notice within a case shall be electronic using the EFS unless stated otherwise.(iii) All discovery on a case shall be electronically served using the EFS except when the discovery is of a type which does not lend itself to electronic service (either because it consists of non-conforming documents or is too voluminous), in which case conventional service shall be used.(I)Signature. Where the R.Juv.P. require an electronic signature on any document, the signature shall be reflected as /s/ NAME unless stated otherwise. (2)Electronic Filing of Documents. When using the EFS:(A) All subsequent pleadings, motions, and other papers, shall be submitted individually with related documents submitted as separate files within the same submission or filing (for example, a motion and memorandum or other supporting attachments or exhibits filed in support of a motion); and(B) Categories of items such as bills, receipts, invoices, photographs, etc. may be submitted in one attachment. For specific requirements, see the Family Court's Juvenile Electronic Filing System Guidelines.
(3)Clerk Review; Acceptance/Rejection Procedure: Following submission, the Family Court shall timely review the electronically filed document(s) and shall notify the filing party as to whether the filing is accepted or rejected. Upon acceptance, the submitted document(s) shall be entered into the docket of the case and the docket shall reflect the date and time of filing as set forth in Article X, Rule 5(b) of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules Governing Electronic Filing. In accordance with Article X, Rule 5(c), grounds for the rejection of a document submitted to the EFS in the Family Court are limited in scope as follows:(A) Pleadings filed without a conventional signature where required;(B) Pleadings filed without the required documents as set forth in the Family Court's Juvenile Electronic Filing System Guidelines;(C) Pleadings not filed in accordance with Rule 1(c)(2);(D) Documents, including any required documents, attachments, or exhibits, scanned in the wrong orientation, e.g., upside down or backwards;(E) Documents scanned and filed that are unreadable or illegible;(F) Documents filed in a fillable portable document format (PDF);(G) The document filed does not match the selected filing code type; (H) The document is filed into the wrong case;(I) The document contains the wrong or incomplete case caption;(J) The document is filed with no case identification;(K) The document was improperly scanned or uploaded;(L) The document name or address for a party exceeds the number of allotted characters;(M) The filer added a party or participant that is not configured in the CMS or does not match the information in the case;(N) A payment processing error occurred; and/or(O) A technical submission error occurred. If rejected, the filing will not be docketed and notice will be sent to the Registered User indicating why the document(s) was returned. The rejection notice shall identify the basis for the rejection in accordance with the rules of the court. A rejected filing shall be promptly corrected and resubmitted and shall be deemed to have been submitted and filed on the initial filing date for purposes of any statutory or rule-based deadline.
(d) Language Assistance Notices.In an effort to provide language assistance to limited English proficient persons, the service of a summons shall include the Language Assistance Notices which informs the recipient of the right to a foreign language interpreter at no cost and contains instructions about how to obtain language assistance services. The most current versions of the Language Assistance Notices are located on the Judiciary's website at www.courts.ri.gov under the heading of Public Resources, Forms, Family Court.
Amended March 1, 2019, effective 7/1/2019; amended April 30, 2019, effective 11/4/2019; amended November 5, 2019, effective 1/6/2020.