2023 -- H 6030

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LC002409

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- FILING OF FALSE LIEN

     Introduced By: Representative Evan P. Shanley

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2023

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     (Judiciary)

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 11-18 of the General Laws entitled "Fraud and False Dealing" is

hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     11-18-1.4. Filing of false lien.

     (a) Whoever files or records, attempts to file or record, conspires to file or record, or directs

another to file or record, in any public record or in any private record which is generally available

to the public, any false lien, instrument, or encumbrance against the real or personal property of a

federal, state, or municipal judge or magistrate or member of his or her immediate family, on

account of the performance or non-performance of official duties by the judge or magistrate,

knowing or having reason to know that such lien or encumbrance is false or contains any materially

false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation, or with the intent to harass, hinder,

defraud, retaliate against, or in any way impede the performance of the judge or magistrate, shall

be guilty of a felony and shall be imprisoned for not more than five (5) years, or fined not more

than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or both.

     (1) "Immediate family" means a judicial officer's spouse, children, or step-children.

     (b) Upon conviction, the court shall issue an order declaring the false lien, instrument, or

encumbrance forming the basis of the conviction null and void and ordering the lien, instrument,

or encumbrance sealed from the official record and removed from any applicable electronic

database. The court may also enjoin the defendant from filing any future lien, instrument, or

encumbrance against the targeted federal, state, or municipal judge or magistrate or member of his

or her immediate family without the approval of the court.

     (d) In addition to any punishment imposed under this section, the court may order the

defendant to pay restitution to the federal, state, or municipal judge or magistrate or member of his

or her immediate family for any costs incurred as a result of the false lien, instrument, or

encumbrance.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- FILING OF FALSE LIEN

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     This act would criminalize the filing of a false lien, instrument, or encumbrance against a

federal, state, or municipal judge or magistrate or his or her immediate family, and permit the court

to take action to mitigate the negative consequences of such a filing.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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