Judicial Branch

The Judicial Branch is the third branch of the Rhode Island government. It interprets R.I. laws in case of dispute or misunderstanding.

There are six court systems on the R.I. level

Supreme Court hears all appeals and has the final interpretation of the law.

Superior Court hears felony cases, equity cases and appeals from District Court

District Court hears civil action and criminal cases.

Family Court hears with familial and custody cases.

Worker's Compensation hears worker's compensation cases.

Traffic Tribunal hears traffic cases.

Supreme Court

Superior Court

District Courts

Appeals System

About This Resource
Court Decisions through LexisNexis is the easiest way to search for all court cases, and it has full text. Cases will be cited in both of the following systems: The numbering system for the Reports of cases heard and determined in the Supreme court of Rhode IslandVolume is R.I., page . For example, 122 R.I. 1 "Pamela J. Paradiso v. Joseph J. Paradiso" is the case in Volume 122 of the Rhode Island Reports (R.I.) on page 1. The numbering system is Rhode Island Reporter is Volume, A.2d, page . For example, 415 A.2d 729 "State v. McKenna" is in volume 415 on page 729 of the Altanic Reporter, 2nd Series (Technically, the Rhode Island Reporter is reported in the Atlantic Reporter.
Digital	Paper
Court Decisions LexisNexis State Case Law: Rhode Island	Reports of cases heard and determined in the Supreme court of Rhode Island has cases from 1828 to1980. Please also see link to older title of this publication for the older volumes. Rhode Island Reporter is published by a private firm and covers 1980-1990.

The Supreme Court bases its decisions on the interpretation of the Constitution.

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The Constitution of Rhode Island	Rhode Island has had different constitutions in its history. Use the subject heading Constitution - Rhode Island to search.