Rhode Island General Laws 31-41.2-4. Procedure – Notice
(a) Except as expressly provided in this chapter, all prosecutions based on evidence produced by an automated traffic-violation-detection system shall follow the procedures established in chapter 41.1 of this title; chapter 18 of Title 8, except the provisions providing for payments to the state in § 8-18-4 and § 8-18-6, and the rules promulgated by the chief magistrate of the traffic tribunal for the hearing of civil traffic violations. A summons may be issued by an officer solely based on evidence obtained by use of an automated traffic-violation-detection system. All summons issued based on evidence obtained from an automated traffic-violation-detection system shall be issued within twenty-eight (28) days of the violation.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 31-41.2-4
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- magistrate: may be construed to mean a justice, or a clerk acting as a justice, of a district court. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
- town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(b) Notwithstanding any rule, regulation, or other provision of the general or public laws to the contrary, no city or town shall be required to make payments to the state in implementing any provision of this chapter until July 1, 2013, nor after July 1, 2015.
(c) It shall be sufficient to commence a prosecution based on evidence obtained from an automated traffic-violation-detection system that a copy of the summons and supporting documentation be mailed to the address of the registered owner kept on file by the registry of motor vehicles pursuant to § 31-3-34. For purposes of this section, the date of issuance shall be the date of mailing.
(d) The officer issuing the summons shall certify under penalties of perjury that the evidence obtained from the automated traffic-violation-detection system was sufficient to demonstrate a violation of the motor vehicle code. Such certification shall be sufficient in all prosecutions pursuant to this chapter to justify the entry of a default judgment upon sufficient proof of actual notice in all cases where the summons is not answered within the time period permitted.
(e) The summons shall contain all the information provided for on the uniform summons as referred to in § 31-41.1-1 and the rules of procedure promulgated by the chief magistrate of the traffic tribunal, subject to the approval of the supreme court pursuant to § 8-6-2.
(f) In addition to the summons, the following information shall be attached to the summons:
(1) Copies of two (2) or more photographs, or microphotographs, or other recorded images taken as proof of the violation;
(2) A signed statement by a trained law enforcement officer that, based on inspection of recorded images, the motor vehicle was being operated in violation of § 31-13-4;
(3) A statement that recorded images are evidence of a violation of this chapter; and
(4) A statement that the person who receives a summons under this chapter may either pay the civil penalty in accordance with the provisions of § 31-41.1-3, or elect to stand trial for the alleged violation.
History of Section.
P.L. 2005, ch. 418, § 1; P.L. 2008, ch. 1, § 13; P.L. 2010, ch. 239, § 31; P.L. 2013, ch. 144, art. 9, § 13; P.L. 2014, ch. 250, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 308, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 528, § 53; P.L. 2017, ch. 458, § 1; P.L. 2017, ch. 473, § 1.