Early last month the Rhode Island State Judiciary issued an Order continuing the closure of courts to non-emergency matters through May 17th.  All jury trial and grand jury matters will continued to be postponed through May 17th.  The Order allows trial judges to scheduled a bench trial before the re-opening date as long as the proceedings are conducted remotely with the consent of the parties and public access is provided.

As it currently stands, the Rhode Island State Court system appears poised to re-open on Monday May 18th.  Since the Courts initial closure on March 13th, all criminal and traffic court cases have been either rescheduled or held open to be rescheduled and given a new Court date.  Most (if not all) Superior Court cases and Traffic Tribunal cases have been assigned a new court date that can be obtained by searching the Judicial Records on the State's public portal here: https://publicportal.courts.ri.gov/PublicPortal/.  Alternatively, most Rhode Island District Court cases have simply been held open and not assigned new Court dates.  Once again, you can check the public portal above to see if a District Court case has been assigned a new Court date.  If it has not been given a new Court date after the tentatively scheduled May 18th re-opening date then either you or your lawyer may need to contact the District Court Clerk's office to obtain information about when your case will be heard.

If you need help with a criminal or a traffic court matter, do not hesitate to contact our team of Rhode Island Criminal Defense Attorneys today.  Although COVID-19 has slowed the legal system, we are working 7 days a week to assist clients in need and are available to speak with you and assist you with your legal issue.  Contact us 24/7 at 401-228-8271.