| Chapter 380 |
| 2016 -- S 2546 Enacted 07/09/2016 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE - PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS IN DISTRICT COURTS |
| Introduced By: Senators Conley, Lombardi, Lombardo, Archambault, and Lynch Prata |
| Date Introduced: February 25, 2016 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 12-10-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-10 entitled "Preliminary |
| Proceedings in District Courts" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 12-10-2. Powers of justices of the peace. -- (a) (1) The chief judge of the district court |
| shall, from time to time, appoint, with power to revoke the appointments, from those qualified |
| justices of the peace who shall be members of the bar of the state of Rhode Island within the |
| cities and towns and divisions of the district court, as many justices of the peace as he or she may |
| deem necessary, who shall be authorized to set and take bail in all complaints bailable before a |
| division of the district court, except those offenses punishable by life imprisonment and, in |
| default of bail, to commit to the adult correctional institutions all respondents arrested on those |
| complaints. The chief judge shall authorize the justices of the peace, so appointed by him or her, |
| to issue warrants and complaints returnable to the division of the district court for any offense for |
| which, by law, a judge of the district court may issue a warrant and complaint, and all warrants so |
| issued, and all warrants and complaints upon which bail is taken or commitments are made, shall |
| be immediately returned to the divisions; provided, that the justices of the peace shall not in any |
| case, or for any purpose, have the power to issue search warrants. The justices of the peace may |
| also set and take bail, as provided in this section, and commit and issue warrants (except search |
| warrants), in any division where the defendant is being held by the state police, the metropolitan |
| park police, conservation officers of the department of environmental management, a sheriff or |
| deputy sheriff, the capitol police, the campus security forces of the state colleges and universities, |
| or city or town police forces. |
| (2) Whenever probable cause exists that a defendant is a violator of bail and/or probation |
| in the district court or superior court, upon being presented with a violation report by an the |
| attorney general for the state or the attorney general's transmission of a violation report to the |
| arresting agency or place of presentment, and upon making a finding that the defendant is subject |
| to violation of bail and/or probation and that probable cause exists on the new charge being |
| brought, the justice of the peace shall issue his or her writ of mittimus confining the defendant |
| without bail and issue a writ of habeas corpus returnable to the next sitting of the district court |
| and make a finding of probable violation in writing. If the attorney general transmits the violation |
| report to the arresting agency or place of presentment, the law-enforcement agency shall ensure |
| that the defendant is presented with the violation report and the justice of the peace shall ensure |
| the violation report is attached to his or her writs and other documentation of a district court |
| violation or a superior court violation. The justice of the peace shall proceed to arraign the |
| defendant on the new charge pursuant to subdivision (1) of this subsection. The justice of the |
| peace shall return his or her writs and other documentation of a district court violation to the clerk |
| of the district court; regarding any superior court violation the attorney for the state shall notify |
| the clerk of the superior court for the county where the case originated, for which a finding of |
| probable violation was made, of the finding of probable violation and the attorney for the state |
| shall, on the same date, request a judge or magistrate of the superior court to issue a writ of |
| habeas corpus for the purpose of a violation presentation before the superior court returnable to |
| the next sitting of the superior court in the county. |
| (b) In misdemeanor cases, a justice of the peace may accept pleas of not guilty, in which |
| case the justice of the peace may schedule a pre-trial conference date before a judge of the district |
| court. |
| (c) In non-capital felony cases, the justices of the peace may also schedule felony |
| screening dates. |
| (d) The fee for the justices of the peace shall be fifty dollars ($50.00), paid by each |
| individual who appears before him or her; provided, that when a special session is requested |
| between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., the fee shall be arranged between the defendant |
| and the justice of the peace, but shall not exceed two hundred dollars ($200). Justices of the peace |
| shall have immunity for any actions taken pursuant to the provisions of this section. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on September 1, 2016. |
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| LC004515 |
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