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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | 2023 -- S 0600 |
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| 6 | 6 | | ======== |
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| 7 | 7 | | LC002050 |
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| 8 | 8 | | ======== |
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| 9 | 9 | | S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND |
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| 10 | 10 | | IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 11 | 11 | | JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023 |
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| 12 | 12 | | ____________ |
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| 13 | 13 | | |
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| 14 | 14 | | A N A C T |
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| 15 | 15 | | RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- IDENTIFICATION AND APPREHENSION OF |
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| 16 | 16 | | CRIMINALS |
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| 17 | 17 | | Introduced By: Senators LaMountain, Burke, McKenney, Acosta, Mack, and Euer |
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| 18 | 18 | | Date Introduced: March 07, 2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Referred To: Senate Judiciary |
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| 20 | 20 | | |
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| 21 | 21 | | |
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| 22 | 22 | | It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
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| 23 | 23 | | SECTION 1. Section 12-1-12.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-1 entitled 1 |
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| 24 | 24 | | "Identification and Apprehension of Criminals" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2 |
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| 25 | 25 | | 12-1-12.1. Sealing of records of persons acquitted or otherwise exonerated by 3 |
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| 26 | 26 | | operation of law or by motion. 4 |
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| 27 | 27 | | (a) By operation of law, the court shall automatically seal the records of any criminal case 5 |
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| 28 | 28 | | that was dismissed pursuant to the district court rule of criminal procedure 48(a), including all 6 |
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| 29 | 29 | | records of the division of criminal identification established by § 12-1-4 without the requirement 7 |
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| 30 | 30 | | of filing a motion under the following circumstances: 8 |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) Cases or individual counts of a criminal complaint dismissed pursuant to the district 9 |
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| 32 | 32 | | court rule of criminal procedure 48(a) on or after January 1, 2023, shall be automatically sealed 10 |
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| 33 | 33 | | ninety (90) days after the dismissal; or 11 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) Cases or individual counts of a criminal complaint dismissed pursuant to the district 12 |
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| 35 | 35 | | court rule of criminal procedure 48(a) prior to January 1, 2023, shall be sealed administratively by 13 |
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| 36 | 36 | | the court clerk at the request of the defendant and any sealing order of the district court entered as 14 |
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| 37 | 37 | | a result shall be sent electronically by the clerk of the court to the bureau of criminal identification 15 |
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| 38 | 38 | | established by § 12-1-4 within five (5) days of the entry of the order and shall be carried out within 16 |
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| 39 | 39 | | ninety (90) days of the receipt of the order. 17 |
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| 40 | 40 | | (b) Any person who is acquitted or otherwise exonerated of all counts in a criminal case, 18 |
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| 41 | 41 | | |
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| 42 | 42 | | |
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| 43 | 43 | | LC002050 - Page 2 of 3 |
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| 44 | 44 | | including, but not limited to, dismissals not described in subsection (a) of this section or filing of a 1 |
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| 45 | 45 | | no true bill or no information, may file a motion for the sealing of his or her court records in the 2 |
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| 46 | 46 | | case. 3 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) Any person filing a motion for sealing his or her court records pursuant to this section 4 |
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| 48 | 48 | | shall give notice of the hearing date set by the court to the department of the attorney general and 5 |
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| 49 | 49 | | the police department that originally brought the charge against the person at least ten (10) days 6 |
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| 50 | 50 | | prior to the hearing. 7 |
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| 51 | 51 | | (2) If the court, after the hearing at which all relevant testimony and information shall be 8 |
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| 52 | 52 | | considered, finds that the person is entitled to the sealing of the records, it shall order the sealing 9 |
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| 53 | 53 | | of the court records of the person in that case. 10 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (3) The clerk of the court shall, within forty-five (45) days of the order of the court granting 11 |
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| 55 | 55 | | the motion, place under seal the court records in the case in which the acquittal, dismissal, no true 12 |
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| 56 | 56 | | bill, no information, or other exoneration has been entered. 13 |
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| 57 | 57 | | (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in all cases involving a filing 14 |
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| 58 | 58 | | subsequent to a plea of not guilty, guilty, or nolo contendere to a charge of a crime involving 15 |
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| 59 | 59 | | domestic violence, the court having jurisdiction over the case shall retain the records of the case 16 |
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| 60 | 60 | | for a period of three (3) years from the date of filing. The records shall not be expunged or sealed 17 |
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| 61 | 61 | | for a period of three (3) years from the date of the filing. 18 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (d) The defendant shall be advised at the hearing that any and all bail money relating to a 19 |
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| 63 | 63 | | case that remains on deposit and is not claimed at the time of sealing shall be escheated to the state’s 20 |
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| 64 | 64 | | general treasury in accordance with chapter 12 of title 8. 21 |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 22 |
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| 66 | 66 | | ======== |
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| 67 | 67 | | LC002050 |
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| 68 | 68 | | ======== |
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| 69 | 69 | | |
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| 70 | 70 | | |
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| 71 | 71 | | LC002050 - Page 3 of 3 |
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| 72 | 72 | | EXPLANATION |
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| 73 | 73 | | BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL |
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| 74 | 74 | | OF |
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| 75 | 75 | | A N A C T |
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| 76 | 76 | | RELATING TO CRIMINAL PROCEDURE -- IDENTIFICATION AND APPREHENSION OF |
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| 77 | 77 | | CRIMINALS |
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| 78 | 78 | | *** |
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| 79 | 79 | | This act would mandate that the clerk of the district court automatically also seal individual 1 |
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| 80 | 80 | | counts of criminal complaints upon dismissal pursuant to rule 48(a) of the rules of criminal 2 |
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| 81 | 81 | | procedure for district court. 3 |
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| 82 | 82 | | This act would take effect upon passage. 4 |
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| 83 | 83 | | ======== |
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| 84 | 84 | | LC002050 |
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| 85 | 85 | | ======== |
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