| Chapter 254 |
| 2022 -- S 2943 SUBSTITUTE A Enacted 06/28/2022 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- IDENTIFICATION AND APPREHENSION OF CRIMINALS |
Introduced By: Senators McCaffrey, and Archambault |
| Date Introduced: May 17, 2022 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 12-1-12.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-1 entitled |
| "Identification and Apprehension of Criminals" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 12-1-12.1. Motion for sealing of records of persons acquitted or otherwise exonerated |
| Sealing of records of persons acquitted or otherwise exonerated or by operation of law or by |
| motion. |
| (a) By operation of law, the court shall automatically seal the records of any criminal case |
| that was dismissed pursuant to the district court rule of criminal procedure 48(a), including all |
| records of the division of criminal identification established by § 12-1-4 without the requirement |
| of filing a motion under the following circumstances: |
| (1) Cases dismissed pursuant to the district court rule of criminal procedure 48(a) on or |
| after January 1, 2023, shall be automatically sealed ninety (90) days after the dismissal; or |
| (2) Cases dismissed pursuant to the district court rule of criminal procedure 48(a) prior to |
| January 1, 2023, shall be sealed administratively by the court clerk at the request of the defendant |
| and any sealing order of the district court entered as a result shall be sent electronically by the clerk |
| of the court to the bureau of criminal identification established by § 12-1-4 within five (5) days of |
| the entry of the order and shall be carried out within ninety (90) days of the receipt of the order. |
| (a)(b) Any person who is acquitted or otherwise exonerated of all counts in a criminal case, |
| including, but not limited to, dismissal dismissals not described in subsection (a) of this section or |
| filing of a no true bill or no information, may file a motion for the sealing of his or her court records |
| in the case. |
| (b)(1) Any person filing a motion for sealing his or her court records pursuant to this section |
| shall give notice of the hearing date set by the court to the department of the attorney general and |
| the police department that originally brought the charge against the person at least ten (10) days |
| prior to the hearing. |
| (c)(2) If the court, after the hearing at which all relevant testimony and information shall |
| be considered, finds that the person is entitled to the sealing of the records, it shall order the sealing |
| of the court records of the person in that case. |
| (d)(3) The clerk of the court shall, within forty-five (45) days of the order of the court |
| granting the motion, place under seal the court records in the case in which the acquittal, dismissal, |
| no true bill, no information, or other exoneration has been entered. |
| (e)(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in all cases involving a filing |
| subsequent to a plea of not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere to a charge of a crime involving |
| domestic violence, the court having jurisdiction over the case shall retain the records of the case |
| for a period of three (3) years from the date of filing. The records shall not be expunged or sealed |
| for a period of three (3) years from the date of the filing. |
| (f)(d) The defendant shall be advised at the hearing that any and all bail money relating to |
| a case that remains on deposit and is not claimed at the time of sealing shall be escheated to the |
| state's general treasury in accordance with chapter 12 of title 8. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC005863/SUB A |
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