(a)  Any person who, by expressly or impliedly threatening to commit any unlawful act, maliciously and knowingly communicates with another person with the specific intent to intimidate a victim of a crime or a witness in any criminal proceeding with respect to that person’s participation in any criminal proceeding shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars ($500), or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 11-32-5

  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

(b)  Any person who, with the specific intent to intimidate a victim of a crime or a witness in any criminal proceeding with respect to that person’s participation in any criminal proceeding, causes a physical injury to or damages the property of any person or expressly or impliedly threatens to cause physical injury to or damage to the property of any person, or, with specific intent to intimidate, acts for pecuniary gain shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or imprisoned not more than five (5) years, or both.

(c)  As used in this section, “criminal proceeding” means the filing of a criminal complaint, any grand jury proceedings, any trial or hearing conducted in any court relating to a criminal matter, any proceeding before the parole board or any official inquiry into an alleged criminal violation.

(d)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent an attorney from interviewing any witness or victim or from otherwise investigating a matter on behalf of a client in an otherwise lawful manner.

History of Section.
P.L. 1980, ch. 91, § 2; P.L. 1982, ch. 372, § 1.