Rule 1 - Scope of Rules and Mandatory Electronic Charging and Filing.(a)Scope of Rules. These rules govern the procedure: (1) In all criminal proceedings in the Superior Court, including appeals from sentences imposed by the District Court or other lower courts, petitions for the writ of habeas corpus and other post-conviction remedy proceedings, extradition and rendition of witnesses and fugitives from justice, and actions to recover fines, penalties, or forfeitures; and(2) In all proceedings in the District Court or before those justices of the peace who are authorized, pursuant to G.L. 1956 § 12-10-2, to set and take bail in all complaints bailable before the Superior and District Courts (hereinafter referred to as bail commissioners) involving offenses within the original jurisdiction of the Superior Court.These rules may be known and cited as the Rules of Criminal Procedure for the Superior Court of Rhode Island and may be cited as Super.R.Crim.P.
(b)Mandatory Electronic Charging (eCharging). The Office of the Attorney General shall initiate the criminal case through electronic means. The electronic content and format shall be determined by the Superior Court.(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 in a Superior Court criminal 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 Super.R.Crim.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 Super.R.Crim.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 Super.R.Crim.P. require a document to be filed in a Superior 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 Super.R.Crim.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. 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 Super.R.Crim.P. require a document or information to be served, sent, delivered, or forwarded, the following shall be applicable: (i) Subpoenas, complaints, petitions, or other documents that must be handdelivered or served in person with a summons shall not be served electronically;(ii) All other service or notice within a case shall be electronic using the EFS unless stated otherwise; and(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 Super.R.Crim.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 Superior Court's Criminal Electronic Filing System Guidelines.
(3)Clerk Review; Acceptance/Rejection Procedure. Following submission, the Superior 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 Superior 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 Superior Court's Criminal Electronic Filing System Guidelines;(C) Pleadings not filed in accordance with Rule 1(c)(2), except for the criminal information or indictment package in Rule 1(d)(3);(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 rulebased deadline.
(d)Obligations of the Office of the Attorney General.(1)Mandatory eCharging. All criminal cases shall be initiated through eCharging. A criminal case will be deemed to have been initiated on the date and time when it is submitted through eCharging, regardless of whether the court is open for business at the time of submission. Documents will be considered to have been timely filed when submitted at any time up to 11:59 p.m. on a filing deadline day. The time and date registered by the Judiciary's computer shall be conclusive.(2)Criminal Information or Indictment. The criminal information or indictment shall be filed through the EFS as the lead document within two (2) business days of when the case is accepted by the court through eCharging. A criminal information or indictment submitted after 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday will be processed the following business day.(3)Criminal Information Package or Indictment. Two (2) sets of the criminal information package or indictment shall be filed separately through the EFS as attachments. One criminal information package or indictment shall be submitted as a non-public document. The second criminal information package or indictment shall be submitted as public document with documents and/or information redacted in accordance with Article X, Rules Governing Electronic Filing and the Rhode Island Judiciary Rules of Practice Governing Public Access to Electronic Case Information. The information package or indictment may be filed in one PDF with a Table of Contents as the first page. For specific requirements regarding the content and order of the information package or indictment, see the Superior Court's Criminal Electronic Filing System Guidelines.R.I. Super. Ct. R. Crim. P. 1
Last amended by Order dated June 22, 2017, effective 9/5/2017.1972 Notes
This rule differs from its federal counterpart by stating fully the proceedings to which the rules will apply in the Superior Court as well as in the District Court and before justices of the peace and bail commissioners. In order for these rules to govern proceedings which take place in the District Court in felony cases, it was necessary for the Judges of the District Court, in the exercise of their rule making authority under G.L. 1956 (1969 Reenactment), § 8-6-2 (Supp.1970), to adopt Rules 3, 4, 5 and 41. On January 5, 1972 the Judges of the District Court took that action.