§ 8-8-8.1 - Administrator/clerk – Magistrate.
SECTION 8-8-8.1
§ 8-8-8.1 Administrator/clerk –Magistrate. – (a) Administrator/clerk. There shall be a district courtadministrator/clerk who shall be appointed by the chief judge in his or hercapacity as administrative head of the court, and who shall hold office at thepleasure of the administrative judge. The administrator/clerk shall performsuch duties and attend to such matters as may be assigned to theadministrator/clerk by the administrative judge, other than those dutiesassigned to the chief clerk in § 8-8-19. Said duties may be assigned bythe chief judge.
(b) Magistrate. Any person holding the position ofdistrict court administrator/clerk who is a member of the bar of Rhode Islandmay be appointed district court magistrate by the chief judge in his or hercapacity as administrative head of the court, subject to the advice and consentof the senate. The district court magistrate shall hold said office for a termof ten (10) years and until a successor is appointed and qualified; and themagistrate shall retain whatever right he or she may have to the position ofdistrict court administrator/clerk pursuant to this section. Nothing hereinshall be construed to prohibit the appointment of the magistrate for more thanone term, subject to the advice and consent of the senate. Any person holdingoffice of district court magistrate on July 1, 1999 may continue in fullauthority in said position until such time as an appointment is made and thenominee qualified pursuant to this subsection.
(c) The district court magistrate shall have the power tohear and determine such matters as may be assigned to the district courtmagistrate by the chief judge all to the same effect as if done by a judge ofthe district court, including but not limited to:
(1) Matters relating to the determination of, monitoring,collection, and payment of restitution and court ordered fines, fees, and costsor the ordering of community service in lieu of or in addition to the paymentof restitution, fines, fees, and costs, consistent with other provisions of thegeneral laws;
(2) Arraignments and pretrial motions in misdemeanor, pettymisdemeanor, violation, and ordinance cases and initial appearances andprobable cause hearings in felony cases;
(3) Bail hearings pursuant to R.I. Const., Art. I, Sec. IXand all other bail matters pursuant to chapter 13 of title 12 and the rules ofcriminal procedure, including but not limited to motions to modify bail, bailrevocation hearings, bail forfeiture hearings, and bail source hearings;
(4) All matters relating to fugitives from justice pursuantto chapter 9 of title 12;
(5) Probation revocation hearings;
(6) All matters relating to small claims and consumer claimspursuant to chapter 16 of title 10, including any pretrial motions includingmotions relating to the special service of process, the entry of defaults anddefault judgments, the trial of such cases and the entry of judgment after suchtrials, and all matters relating to the enforcement of such judgments,including but not limited to the ordering of installment payments and trusteeprocess; and
(7) Complaints for judicial review of the decision of anadministrative agency pursuant to chapter 35 of title 42 by making proposedfindings of fact and recommendations for the disposition of the complaints to ajudge of the court. Any party may object to any portion of the magistrate'sproposed findings and recommendations within ten (10) days after receipt of acopy thereof. That party shall file with the clerk of the sixth division of thedistrict court and serve on all parties written objections which shallspecifically identify the portions of the proposed findings and recommendationsto which objection is made and the basis for the objection. A judge shall makea de novo determination of those portions to which objection is made and mayaccept, reject, or modify, in whole or in part, the findings or recommendationsmade by the magistrate. Absent a timely objection filed in accordance with thissubdivision, the proposed prevailing party shall, upon expiration of the ten(10) days following the service of the magistrate's proposed findings andrecommendations, submit a proposed order for signature of the judge to whom thecase has been assigned.
(8) [Deleted by P.L. 2008, ch. 1, § 3].
(d) The magistrate may be authorized:
(1) To regulate all proceedings before him or her;
(2) To do all acts necessary or proper for the efficientperformance of his or her duties;
(3) To require the production before him or her of books,papers, vouchers, documents, and writings;
(4) To rule upon the admissibility of evidence;
(5) To issue subpoenas for the appearance of witnesses, toput witnesses on oath, to examine them, and to call parties to the proceedingand examine them upon oath;
(6) To adjudicate a person in contempt and to order him orher fined or to order him or her imprisoned for not more than seventy-two (72)hours, pending review by a judge of the court, for failure to appear inresponse to a summons or for refusal to answer questions or produce evidence orfor behavior disrupting a proceeding or other contempt of his or her authority;
(7) To adjudicate a person in contempt and to order him orher fined or to order him or her imprisoned for not more than seventy-two (72)hours, pending review by a judge of the court, for failure to comply with apending order to provide payment or to perform any other act;
(8) To issue a capias and/or body attachment for the failureof a party or witness to appear after having been properly served or givennotice by the court and, should the court not be in session, the personapprehended may be detained at the adult correctional institution, if an adult,or at the Rhode Island training school for youth, if a child, until the nextsession of the court;
(9) To issue writs of habeas corpus to bring before him orher or a judge of the court any person in jail or in prison to be examined as awitness in a suit or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending before the court,or whose presence is necessary as a party or otherwise necessary so that theends of justice may be attained, and for no other purpose; and
(10) To issue warrants of arrest and search warrants to thesame extent as an associate judge of the court.
(e) Except as otherwise indicated, a party aggrieved by anorder entered by the district court magistrate shall be entitled to a review ofthe order, whether by appeal or otherwise, by a judge of the court. The courtshall, by rules of procedure, establish procedures for review of contempt andadjudications of the magistrate.
(f) The magistrate shall be:
(1) Governed by the commission on judicial tenure anddiscipline, chapter 16 of this title, in the same manner as justices and judges;
(2) Subject to all provisions of the canons of judicialethics;
(3) Subject to all criminal laws relative to judges by virtueof §§ 11-7-1 and 11-7-2.
(g) The provisions of this section shall be afforded liberalconstruction.