Chapter 342
2017 -- H 5064 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 09/28/2017

A N   A C T
RELATING TO COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - COURTS - SUPERIOR COURT DIVERSION

Introduced By: Representatives Craven, Knight, McEntee, Casimiro, and Keable
Date Introduced: January 11, 2017

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
     SECTION 1. Chapter 8-2 of the General Laws entitled "Superior Court" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following section:
     8-2-39.3. Superior court diversion.
     In accordance with §8-6-2, the superior court may create, with the approval of the
supreme court, rules for a superior court diversion program. The presiding justice may assign a
justice or magistrate to administer the diversion program, in which the defendant enters a plea to
the pending matter and agrees to written contractual conditions of diversion with the justice or
magistrate, including reporting to the court as instructed for reviews, until such time as the
defendant has completed the diversion program to the court's satisfaction and all reviews are
completed. Contractual conditions may include, but are not limited to, compliance with
counseling, community service, and restitution obligations.
     SECTION 2. Section 12-7-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-7 entitled "Arrest" is
hereby amended to read as follows:
     12-7-12. Release of arrested person by officer in charge of police station. Release of
arrested person by officer.
     (a) The officer in charge of any police station may shall consider the release of any
person in his or her station who has been arrested without a warrant:
     (1) Without requiring the person to appear in court, when the officer is satisfied that there
is no ground for making criminal complaint against the person or when the person has been
arrested for drunkenness but in the judgment of the officer need not be brought before a
magistrate; or
     (2) If the arrest is for a misdemeanor, upon that person signing an agreement to appear in
court at a designated time.
     (b) Any officer with custody of a person who has been arrested or detained without a
warrant may recognize that the person suffers from a serious mental illness and may release and
refer the person to the nearest appropriate inpatient mental health facility or outpatient treatment
program.
     SECTION 3. Section 12-10-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-10 entitled
"Preliminary Proceedings in District Courts" is hereby amended to read as follows:
     12-10-12. Filing of complaints.
     (a) Subject to any other provisions of law relative to the filing of complaints for particular
crimes, any judge of the district court or superior court may place on file any complaint in a
criminal case other than a complaint for the commission of a felony or a complaint against a
person who has been convicted of a felony or a private complaint. The court may in its discretion
require, as a condition of the filing, the performance of services for the public good or may attach
any other conditions to it that the court shall determine; provided, in cases where the court
ordered restitution totals less than two hundred dollars ($200) to an injured party pursuant to this
section or § 12-19-34, the court shall require that full restitution be made at the time of sentencing
if the court determines that the defendant has the present ability to make the restitution.
     (b) Express conditions of any filing in accordance with this section shall be that the
defendant at all times during the one year keep the peace and be of good behavior and shall have
paid all outstanding court-imposed or court-related fees, fines, costs, assessments, charges, and/or
any other monetary obligations unless reduced or waived by order of the court. A violation of
these express conditions, or any other condition set by the court, shall may be deemed a violation
of the filing and the matter that was filed may be resurrected by the court, or the court may
impose a sanction. A determination of whether a violation has occurred shall be made by the
court in accordance with the procedures relating to a violation of probation, §§ 12-19-9 and 12-
19-14.
     (c) In the event the complaint was originally filed under this section subsequent to the
defendant's plea of guilty or nolo contendere to the charges, the court, if it finds there to have
been a violation but does not impose a sanction, may sentence the defendant. In the event the
court filed the complaint under this section while the defendant maintained a plea of not guilty, if
the court finds there to have been a violation but does not impose a sanction, it may proceed to
the further disposition of the complaint according to law. If no action is taken on the complaint
for a period of one year following the filing, the complaint shall be automatically expunged. No
criminal record shall result; provided, that in any civil action for a tort, a plea of guilty or a
finding of guilty should be admissible notwithstanding the fact that the complaint has been filed.
     (d) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, in the event a complaint for
a crime involving domestic violence was originally filed under this section subsequent to the
defendant's plea of guilty or nolo contendere to the charges, the court, if it finds there to have
been a violation, may sentence the defendant. In the event the court filed the complaint for a
crime involving domestic violence under this section while the defendant maintained a plea of not
guilty, if the court finds there to have been a violation, it may proceed to the further disposition of
the complaint for a crime involving domestic violence according to law. If, for a period of one
year after the date of filing, the defendant is not charged with a violation pursuant to subsection
(b) of this section, the filed complaint for the crime involving domestic violence shall be
automatically quashed and shall not be resurrected. If, for a period of three (3) years after the date
of filing, the defendant is not charged with a crime involving domestic violence, or if so charged,
is acquitted or the complaint is dismissed, all records relating to the filed complaint for a crime
involving domestic violence shall be expunged without the requirement of filing a motion
pursuant to chapter 1.3 of title 12. No criminal records shall result, unless in any civil action for a
tort, in which a plea of guilty or a finding of guilty is admissible notwithstanding the fact that the
complaint has been filed. Provided, however, that in sentencing a defendant for a crime involving
domestic violence of which the defendant was charged within three (3) years after the filing of a
prior crime involving domestic violence to which the defendant pleaded guilty or nolo
contendere, the court may take the plea into consideration.
     (e) The defendant shall be advised that any and all bail money relating to a case that
remains on deposit and is not claimed at the time of expungement shall be escheated to the state's
general treasury in accordance with chapter 12 of title 8.
     SECTION 4. Sections 12-13-24 and 12-13-24.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-13
entitled "Bail and Recognizance" are hereby amended to read as follows:
     12-13-24. Confidentiality of pretrial services program records.
     (a) Information supplied by a defendant to a representative of the pretrial services
program during the defendant's initial interview or subsequent contacts, or information obtained
by the pretrial services program as a result of the interview or subsequent contacts, shall be
deemed confidential and shall not be subject to subpoena or to disclosure without the written
consent of the defendant except in the following circumstances:
      (1) Information relevant to the imposition of conditions of release shall be presented to
the court on a standardized form when the court is considering what conditions of release to
impose;
      (2) Information furnished by the defendant to the pretrial services program and recorded
on a completed interview form shall be furnished to law enforcement officials upon request only
if the defendant fails to appear in court when required, after notice to the defendant or the
defendant's attorney of record;
      (3) Information concerning compliance with any conditions of release imposed by the
court shall be furnished to the court upon its request for consideration or modification of
conditions of release or of sentencing or of probation;
      (4) Information relevant to sentencing or probation shall be furnished to the court upon
its request for consideration in imposing sentence or probation;
      (5) At its discretion, the court may permit the probation officer, for the purpose of
preparing the presentence investigation report, and the defense attorney to inspect the completed
interview form; and
     (6) In felony cases, completed pre-arraignment reports shall be provided to the superior
court; and
      (6)(7) Any person conducting an evaluation of the pretrial release program may have
access to all completed interview forms upon order from the supreme court.
      (b) At the beginning of the defendant's initial interview with a representative of the
pretrial services program, the defendant shall be advised of the above uses of information
supplied by him or her or obtained as a result of information supplied by him or her.
     12-13-24.1. Pre-trial Pretrial services unit.
     (a) Creation of unit; definitions. - There is created within the district court a pre-trial
pretrial services unit to provide pre-arraignment and post-arraignment services to defendants.
These services shall include, but not be limited to: bail information and screening,
     (1) "Pre-arraignment report" may include:
     (i) The results of a risk screen;
     (ii) For a defendant who scores as high risk on the risk screen, additional validated
screens for mental health and substance use needs, to determine whether more in-depth
assessment is needed post-arraignment; and
     (iii) For a defendant charged with a domestic violence offense under §12-29-2, and who
has prior domestic violence offenses or other indications of risk, a lethality or dangerousness
assessment.
     (2) "Post-arraignment service" includes completion of the pre-arraignment report, a post-
arraignment report, if necessary, and monitoring of defendants released on conditions that are
informed by the pre-arraignment report, bail including substance abuse treatment referrals and
testing,; referrals to the home confinement program,; employment referrals,; and any other
referrals that may be necessary to carry out the intent of this section.
     (3) "Risk screen" means a validated, empirically-based pretrial risk tool composed of a
brief set of questions that may be answered without interviewing the defendant and are designed
to predict failure to appear and risk to re-offend.
      (b) Bail evaluation Pre-arraignment report. - Whenever any person shall be taken into
custody by any peace officer for the purpose of bringing that person before a court for
arraignment or any other proceeding which may result in that person being detained pending a
final adjudication of the charge, if the person is charged with a felony, or a misdemeanor
domestic violence offense under §12-29-2 and has prior domestic violence offenses or other
indications of risk, the pretrial services unit shall, time permitting, prepare, a judicial officer may
cause to be conducted a pre-arraignment report and any or post-arraignment screening of the
accused deemed necessary by the court or the pretrial services unit, and shall obtain any relevant
information, records, and documents that may be useful to the judicial officer in determining the
form and type of recognizance and conditions placed on the defendant.
      (c) Delivery of report. - The pre-arraignment report of the pre-arraignment or and any
post-arraignment screening shall be immediately delivered to the judicial officer before whom the
accused shall be brought for the purpose of determining the form and conditions of recognizance
and shall contain the information set forth in subsection (d) of this section.
      (d) Form of report. - The report of the pre-arraignment or post-arraignment screening
shall contain the following information regarding the accused:
      (1) Name and address;
      (2) Date of birth;
      (3) Marital status;
      (4) Names and addresses of dependents;
      (5) Social security number;
      (6) Present employment including place of employment, position held and length of
employment;
      (7) Whether or not the accused is under the care of a licensed physician or on any
medication prescribed by a licensed physician;
      (8) Education;
      (9) Prior criminal record;
      (10) Prior court appearances;
      (11) Ties to the community; and
      (12) Any other information that may be required to make a determination on the amount
and conditions of recognizance or bail.
      (e) Confidentiality of communications. - The accused shall be advised orally and in a
written waiver form for the signature of the accused, that he or she has the right to remain silent
and may voluntarily decline to respond to any or all questions that may be put by representatives
of the pre-trial services unit. Communications between the accused and representatives of the pre-
trial services unit shall be considered confidential pursuant to § 12-13-24.
     SECTION 5. Section 1 of this act shall take effect upon issuance of applicable rules by
the supreme court. Section 4 of this act shall take effect on January 1, 2018. The remaining
sections of this act shall take effect upon passage and shall be applicable to all cases pending as of
the effective date.
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LC000223/SUB A
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