Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0128 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2023 -- S 0128
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7	7	LC000268
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9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS IN DISTRICT
16	16	COURTS
17	17	Introduced By: Senators Cano, Euer, Quezada, Burke, Acosta, and Kallman
18	18	Date Introduced: February 01, 2023
19	19	Referred To: Senate Judiciary
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21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 12-10-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-10 entitled "Preliminary 1
24	24	Proceedings in District Courts" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	12-10-6. Recognizance or commitment on charge of offense beyond trial jurisdiction 3
26	26	of district court. 4
27	27	Whenever any person shall be brought before the district court upon a complaint charging 5
28	28	him or her with an offense which is not within the jurisdiction of the court to try and determine, 6
29	29	and it shall appear to the court that the accused to abide by conditions of pretrial release, as defined 7
30	30	in § 12-13-1.3, is probably guilty, the court shall, if the offense is bailable by it, require the accused 8
31	31	to enter into a recognizance in any sum that the court shall direct, with sufficient surety to be 9
32	32	approved by the court, with condition that the accused will appear at the superior court for the 10
33	33	county in which the division is situated at the time fixed for the attendance of the grand jury in that 11
34	34	court which is next after seven (7) days from the day when the recognizance was ordered, and not 12
35	35	to depart the superior court without leave, and in the meantime keep the peace and be of good 13
36	36	behavior toward all the people of this state. The recognizance shall be immediately certified as soon 14
37	37	as may be by the district court to the court before which the accused shall recognize to appear. 15
38	38	Whenever the district court shall require any person to enter into a recognizance for his or her 16
39	39	appearance before it or before any other court, and shall not give the recognizance, the person shall 17
40	40	be immediately committed to the adult correctional institutions, there to remain until he or she is 18
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42	42
43	43	LC000268 - Page 2 of 6
44	44	discharged pursuant to law. If the required recognizance is for the appearance of the accused before 1
45	45	the superior court, the fact of the commitment shall be immediately certified to the superior court 2
46	46	before which the accused has been held to appear. 3
47	47	SECTION 2. Sections 12-13-1, 12-13-1.3 and 12-13-24.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 4
48	48	12-13 entitled "Bail and Recognizance" are hereby amended to read as follows: 5
49	49	12-13-1. Right to release pending trial on giving of recognizance. 6
50	50	Every person who is held on any criminal process to answer to any indictment, information, 7
51	51	or complaint against him or her shall be released upon conditions of pretrial release as defined in § 8
52	52	12-13-1.3, or upon giving recognizance with sufficient surety or sureties before a justice of the 9
53	53	supreme or superior court or before a justice of the district court, when the complaint is pending in 10
54	54	that court or the person is held to answer to that court, in the sum named in the process, if any has 11
55	55	been named in it, and if none is named, then in any sum that the justice shall deem reasonable, to 12
56	56	appear before the court where the indictment, information, or complaint is pending against him or 13
57	57	her, or to which he or she may be bound over to appear, to answer to the indictment, information, 14
58	58	or complaint, and to answer to it whenever called upon so to do, and abide the final order of the 15
59	59	court, and in the meantime keep the peace and be of good behavior. Any justice may take the 16
60	60	recognizance in any place within the state, and the recognizance shall be returned to the court to 17
61	61	which the accused has recognized to appear. 18
62	62	12-13-1.3. Pretrial release. 19
63	63	(a) Unless otherwise provided, a detainee shall be eligible for pretrial release or reduced 20
64	64	bail if he or she fails to post bail. 21
65	65	(b) “Pretrial release” means release of a defendant without bail but upon an order to abide 22
66	66	by the conditions as set by the court. Release on non-monetary conditions shall be applied to secure 23
67	67	the presence of the accused and protect the safety of the community. 24
68	68	(c) The department of corrections or pretrial services shall collect information concerning 25
69	69	the background and circumstances of the pretrial detainee. The department’s investigation shall 26
70	70	include the following information and any other factors as shall be appropriate to the case: 27
71	71	(1) Marital status. 28
72	72	(2) Name and address of dependents. 29
73	73	(3) Past and present employment, including place of employment, position held and length 30
74	74	of employment. 31
75	75	(4) Whether the defendant is under the care of a licensed physician or uses medication 32
76	76	prescribed by a licensed physician. 33
77	77	(5) Any physical or mental condition affecting the defendant’s behavior. 34
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81	81	(6) Education. 1
82	82	(7) Prior criminal record, including facts indicating that the defendant is likely to be a 2
83	83	danger to the community if released without restrictions. 3
84	84	(8) Prior court appearances and record of appearance or non-appearance. 4
85	85	(9) Ties to this community and to other communities. 5
86	86	(10) Financial resources. 6
87	87	(d) If, as a result of this investigation, the department of corrections or pretrial services 7
88	88	concludes that the pretrial detainee is an appropriate candidate to be considered by the court for 8
89	89	pretrial release or reduced bail, the department or pretrial services shall present its findings to the 9
90	90	court. 10
91	91	(e) Upon a determination by the court that a defendant is suitable for release on 11
92	92	recognizance subject to conditions set by the court, the court in its discretion may also impose the 12
93	93	least onerous of the following conditions necessary to assure the defendant’s appearance in court: 13
94	94	(1) Imposition of condition of release involving field supervision with or without special 14
95	95	conditions. Field supervision shall require notification to defendants released prior to trial of their 15
96	96	court dates. 16
97	97	(2) Imposition of condition of release involving placement of defendant on intensive 17
98	98	supervision, with or without special conditions. Intensive supervision shall require contact with the 18
99	99	officials designated by the courts and prompt notification to the court of all apparent violations of 19
100	100	pre-trial release conditions or arrest of persons released to its custody. 20
101	101	(3) Imposition of a condition of release involving placement of the defendant on 21
102	102	community confinement pursuant to § 42-56-20.2. 22
103	103	(4) There shall be a presumption that any conditions of release imposed shall be non-23
104	104	monetary in nature and the court shall impose the least restrictive conditions or combination of 24
105	105	conditions necessary to reasonably ensure the appearance of the defendant for further court 25
106	106	proceedings and protect the integrity of the judicial proceedings from a specific threat to a witness 26
107	107	or participant. Conditions of release may include, but not be limited to, electronic home monitoring, 27
108	108	curfews, drug counseling, no contact orders with any named victim or witness, and in-person 28
109	109	reporting. The court shall consider the defendant's socio-economic circumstance when setting 29
110	110	conditions of release or imposing monetary bail. 30
111	111	(f) This section shall not be construed to preclude review by the court of a defendant’s bail 31
112	112	status at any time. 32
113	113	12-13-24.1. Pretrial services unit. 33
114	114	(a) Creation of unit; definitions. There is created within the district court a pretrial services 34
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118	118	unit to provide pre-arraignment and post-arraignment services to defendants. 1
119	119	(1) “Pre-arraignment report” may include: 2
120	120	(i) The results of a risk screen an assessment utilizing a risk assessment tool; 3
121	121	(ii) For a defendant who scores as high risk on the risk screen, additional validated screens 4
122	122	for mental health and substance use needs, to determine whether more in-depth assessment is 5
123	123	needed post-arraignment; and 6
124	124	(iii) For a defendant charged with a domestic violence offense under § 12-29-2, and who 7
125	125	has prior domestic violence offenses or other indications of risk, a lethality or dangerousness 8
126	126	assessment. 9
127	127	(2) “Post-arraignment service” includes completion of the pre-arraignment report, a post-10
128	128	arraignment report, if necessary, and monitoring of defendants released on conditions that are 11
129	129	informed by the pre-arraignment report, including substance abuse treatment referrals and testing; 12
130	130	referrals to the home confinement program; employment referrals; and any other referrals that may 13
131	131	be necessary to carry out the intent of this section. 14
132	132	(3) “Risk screen” means a validated, empirically based pretrial risk tool composed of a 15
133	133	brief set of questions that may be answered without interviewing the defendant and are designed to 16
134	134	predict failure to appear and risk to re-offend. For purposes of this section, "risk assessment tool" 17
135	135	means an empirically validated, evidence-based screening instrument that demonstrates reduced 18
136	136	instances of a defendant's failure to appear for further court proceedings or prevents future criminal 19
137	137	activity. Such risk assessment tool shall not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, education 20
138	138	level, socio-economic status, or neighborhood. 21
139	139	(b) Pre-arraignment report. Whenever any person shall be taken into custody by any peace 22
140	140	officer for the purpose of bringing that person before a court for arraignment or any other 23
141	141	proceeding which may result in that person being detained pending a final adjudication of the 24
142	142	charge, if the person is charged with a felony, or a misdemeanor domestic violence offense under 25
143	143	§ 12-29-2 and has prior domestic violence offenses or other indications of risk, the pretrial services 26
144	144	unit shall, time permitting, prepare a pre-arraignment report to assist the court in establishing bail 27
145	145	for a defendant by assessing the defendant's likelihood of appearing at future court proceedings or 28
146	146	determining if the defendant poses a real and present threat to the physical safety of any person or 29
147	147	persons, and any post-arraignment screening of the accused deemed necessary by the court or the 30
148	148	pretrial services unit, and shall. Pretrial services shall obtain relevant information, records, and 31
149	149	documents that may be useful to the judicial officer in determining the form and type of 32
150	150	recognizance and conditions placed on the defendant. 33
151	151	(c) Delivery of report. The pre-arraignment report and any post-arraignment screening shall 34
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155	155	be immediately delivered to the judicial officer before whom the accused shall be brought for the 1
156	156	purpose of determining the form and conditions of recognizance. 2
157	157	(d) [Deleted by P.L. 2017, ch. 342, § 4 and P.L. 2017, ch. 353, § 4]. 3
158	158	(e) Confidentiality of communications. The accused shall be advised orally and in a written 4
159	159	waiver form for the signature of the accused that he or she has the right to remain silent and may 5
160	160	voluntarily decline to respond to any or all questions that may be put by representatives of the 6
161	161	pretrial services unit. Communications between the accused and representatives of the pretrial 7
162	162	services unit shall be considered confidential pursuant to § 12-13-24. 8
163	163	SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2024. 9
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165	165	LC000268
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170	170	EXPLANATION
171	171	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
172	172	OF
173	173	A N A C T
174	174	RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS IN DISTRICT
175	175	COURTS
176	176	***
177	177	This act would establish a presumption for non-monetary bail for pretrial release of 1
178	178	detainees. This act further provides that the pretrial services unit shall prepare a pre-arraignment 2
179	179	report which may include an assessment utilizing a risk assessment tool to assist the court in 3
180	180	establishing bail. 4
181	181	This act would take effect on January 1, 2024. 5
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183	183	LC000268
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