(a)  A victim, his or her guardian, or in the case of a deceased victim, his or her legal representative, within three (3) years of the last payment to or recovery by the criminal royalties fund of monies attributable to the criminally responsible person whose portion of the fund is to be charged, may petition the court for compensation from that portion of the fund. Notice of the action shall be accorded the criminally responsible person in the manner and in the form prescribed by the court after filing of the petition. In the event that the whereabouts of the criminally responsible person are neither known nor discoverable through diligent and reasonable inquiry, the circumstance shall be made a matter of record by affidavit to the court. The criminally responsible person whose portion of the fund is to be charged shall have the right to contest any petition pursuant to this section.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-4

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Convicted: as used in this chapter only, means a person who has entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a charge of a felony offense, regardless of the fine, sentence or other punishment imposed or who has been found guilty after a trial on a charge of a felony offense. See Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-2
  • Court: means the superior court. See Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-2
  • Criminally responsible person: means a person who has been convicted of a felony committed within the state of Rhode Island which caused another person to suffer personal injury or loss of property, or who has been adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity after a trial on a charge of the offense, or who has voluntarily admitted the commission of the offense. See Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-2
  • 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.
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Pecuniary loss: includes :

    (i)  For personal injury:

    (A)  Medical expenses (including psychiatric care);

    (B)  Hospital expenses;

    (C)  Loss of past earnings; and

    (D)  Loss of future earnings because of a disability resulting from personal injury;

    (ii)  For death:

    (A)  Funeral and burial expenses; and

    (B)  Loss of support to the dependents of the victim; and

    (iii)  Any other expenses actually and necessarily incurred as a result of the personal injury or death. See Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-2

  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Personal injury: means actual bodily harm, mental or nervous shock, or a pregnancy. See Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-2
  • Relative: means a spouse, parent, grandparent, stepfather, stepmother, child, grandchild, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, and a spouse's parents. See Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-2
  • Victim: means a person who suffers personal injury or loss of property as a direct result of the conduct of another person in perpetration of a criminal offense. See Rhode Island General Laws 12-25.1-2

(b)  No award of compensation may be entered unless the court, sitting without a jury, finds that:

(1)  The victim did suffer personal injury or loss of property as a result of conduct in this state in perpetration of a criminal offense by the criminally responsible person whose portion of the fund is to be charged;

(2)  That the victim was not a co-conspirator with or an accessory to the criminally responsible person in the perpetration of the criminal offense;

(3)  That the person whose portion of the fund is to be charged has been convicted of the criminal offense or otherwise determined to be the criminally responsible person within the meaning of this chapter; and

(4)  The portion of the criminal royalties fund sought to be charged is attributable to the criminally responsible person shown to have caused the victim’s personal injury.

(c)(1)  The court may award compensation:

(i)  To or on behalf of the victim, or his or her guardian;

(ii)  In the case of the personal injury of the victim, where the compensation is for pecuniary loss suffered or expenses incurred by any person responsible for the maintenance of the victim, to that person; or

(iii)  In the case of the death of the victim, to or for the benefit of the dependents or closest relative of the deceased victim, or any one or more of those dependents, or to the legal representative of the victim.

(2)  An award of compensation shall be limited to:

(i)  Expenses actually and reasonably incurred as a result of the personal injury or death of the victim;

(ii)  Pecuniary loss to the personally injured victim or the dependents of the deceased victim;

(iii)  Pain and suffering of the personally injured victim;

(iv)  Any other pecuniary loss resulting from the personal injury or death of the victim, the amount of which the court finds upon the evidence to be reasonable and necessary; and

(v)  The amount of the fair market value of the lost or stolen property.

(3)  In determining the amount of an award, the court may consider any circumstances it determines to be relevant, including the behavior of the victim which directly or indirectly contributed to his or her injury or death or loss of property, unless the injury or death resulted from the victim’s lawful attempt to prevent the commission of a crime or to apprehend a criminally responsible person. No interest shall be included in or added to an award of compensation under this chapter. No compensation shall be awarded if the victim was at the time of the personal injury or death or loss of property of the victim living with the criminally responsible person as his wife or her husband or in other situations, when the court, in its discretion, feels unjust enrichment to or on behalf of the criminally responsible person would result. Compensation under this chapter shall not be awarded to any victim or dependent relative or legal representative if the award would, directly or indirectly, inure to the benefit of the criminally responsible person.

(d)  Upon certification by the court, the general treasurer shall pay to the person named in the award the amount specified in it from the appropriate portion of the criminal royalties fund.

History of Section.
P.L. 1983, ch. 328, § 1.