Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 31-27 - Motor Vehicle Offenses
Section 31-27-12.3. - Preparation and disposition of records.

§ 31-27-12.3. Preparation and disposition of records.
(a)(1) Responsibility of individual officer. At or before the completion of his or her tour of duty, every police officer who has issued a summons from his or her book or pad shall retain a copy of the summons and shall deliver to the chief administrative officer of his or her department or organization or to the person duly authorized by the chief administrative officer the request for complaint, the division of motor vehicles record and police record all duly signed by the police officer together with all summonses spoiled, mutilated, or voided during the tour of duty, endorsed with a full explanation of each.
(2) Each officer shall, upon using all summonses in a pad or book, return it to the chief administrative officer of his or her department or state police barracks or person duly authorized by him or her.
(b) Responsibility of chief administrative officer of police department or state police barracks. Every chief administrative officer of a police department or state police barracks, or person duly authorized by him or her, shall, upon their receipt from a police officer who has issued a summons, deposit the completed copy, request for complaint, and the division of motor vehicles’ record with the court having jurisdiction of the alleged violation no later than two (2) days after the date of the issuance of the summons, Sundays and legal holidays excepted. The chief administrative officer shall retain for department records the form designated police record. The chief administrative officer shall also cause to be completed, in duplicate, the summary sheet for each pad or book noting on it the date of issuance of all summonses contained in the book, including the mutilation or destruction of any summonses contained in it together with the court complaint number issued and the disposition, if known, within ten (10) days after receipt of the used book or pad from the police officer and shall, within that time, deposit the original summary sheet signed by the chief administrative officer or person duly authorized by him or her to the clerk of the court which distributed the book or pad, retaining the copy for department records.
(c)(1) Responsibility of courts. A full record shall be kept by every court in this state of every case in which a person is charged with a violation of any provision of this title, or any act relative to motor vehicles, or to the operation of the vehicles. An abstract of that record shall be sent by the court to the division of motor vehicles within ten (10) days of the time when the case is disposed of.
(2) In any case in which the charge is a violation of that portion of § 31-27-2(a) relating to a person operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor, the case shall not be construed as disposed of, if sentence is imposed to attend a special course as provided in that section, until action has been taken by the court having jurisdiction of the charge upon completion of the course or upon a failure to complete it.
(3) If a case was commenced by a summons as provided in § 31-27-12, the abstract shall be made on the division of motor vehicles record provided in § 31-27-12.1, and otherwise the abstract shall be made upon forms prepared by the division of motor vehicles. Every abstract shall include all necessary information as to the parties to the cause, the nature of the offense, the date of the hearing, the plea, the decision, the judgment and the result, and in case an operator or chauffeur shall plead guilty or nolo contendere or be found guilty of a violation of § 31-14-1, the number of miles per hour by which the operator or chauffeur exceeded the reasonable and prudent speed, and every abstract shall be certified by the clerk of the court. The division of motor vehicles shall keep records and they shall be open to the public inspection during the business hours of the division of motor vehicles. The judge of any court in the state may, upon his or her own initiative, or upon the request of the division of motor vehicles or its agents, furnish to the division of motor vehicles the details of all particularly flagrant cases which may be heard before the judge and may make any recommendations to the division of motor vehicles as to the suspension of the license of the persons defendant in the case that the judge may deem necessary.
(4) The clerk of every court which has issued pads or books of summonses and related records provided in § 31-27-12.1 shall be the initial custodian of all summary sheets returned to the court as provided in subsection (b) of this section. The clerk shall determine that all required information is included on the summary sheets and shall annually, during the month of July, deliver all summary sheets returned to his or her custody during the preceding twelve (12) months to the administrative clerk in the judicial department. The clerk shall also, during the month of July, determine the location of all pads or books and summonses distributed by him or her more than one year prior to the month, and the summary sheet for which has not been returned and shall, within the month, report his or her finding to the administrative clerk of the judicial department.
(d) Responsibility of administrative clerk of judicial department. Upon receipt of the summary sheets and reports of clerks as provided by subsection (c) of this section, the administrative clerk of the judicial department shall be the custodian of them and shall keep the sheets and reports for a period of not less than three (3) years, and they shall be open to the public inspection during the hours when the office of the administrative clerk of the judicial department is open.
History of Section.P.L. 1970, ch. 66, § 2; P.L. 1974, ch. 120, § 3.

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