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S 2936Civil Procedure

Courts and Civil Procedure - Courts - District Court

Transfers the town of North Kingstown from the Third Division District Court jurisdiction to the Fourth Division District Court jurisdiction.

Signed into law63 Yea0 Nay12 Not voting
Population
Affected
8
Email Legislator
Introduced Mar 4, 2026Committee Senate Judiciary

Plain-English Summary

This legislation changes the judicial district assignment for the town of North Kingstown. Currently, North Kingstown falls under the Third Division District Court, which generally covers Kent County. This bill moves the town to the Fourth Division District Court, which covers Washington County. As a result, legal cases and appeals originating in North Kingstown will be processed by the Fourth Division and transmitted to the Washington County Superior Court, rather than the Kent County Superior Court.

For younger readers

This bill changes which courthouse the people of North Kingstown go to if they have a legal issue. Right now, North Kingstown is part of a group of towns that go to the "Third Division" court. This law moves North Kingstown to the "Fourth Division" court group. It is like changing which school district a neighborhood belongs to, but for courts. This helps the state organize which judges hear cases for that specific town.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
North Kingstown ResidentsAttorneysCourt ClerksNorth Kingstown Police DepartmentDistrict Court Judges
Impacted communities
North Kingstown

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Aligns the court jurisdiction with the geographic location of the town (Washington County), potentially making travel and access to justice more logical for residents.
  • Streamlines judicial administration by grouping North Kingstown with other Washington County towns, likely improving case processing efficiency for the community.
  • Ensures that appeals are directed to the Washington County Superior Court, keeping legal proceedings within the appropriate regional community context.
  • Could cause temporary confusion for residents and legal professionals accustomed to utilizing the Third Division, potentially disrupting access to services.
  • Might displace existing court staff relationships or require resource reallocation between divisions, potentially causing short-term administrative strain.
  • If the Fourth Division is already overburdened, adding a large town like North Kingstown could delay justice for vulnerable populations in that region.
For Conservatives
  • Clarifies and corrects the jurisdictional boundaries to better reflect the geographic and county-based reality of the state's court system.
  • Increases administrative efficiency within the judicial branch by properly aligning town caseloads with the correct county divisions.
  • Maintains the rule of law by ensuring statutory divisions match the operational and logistical needs of the District Court system.
  • Creates unnecessary bureaucratic churn by forcing lawyers and citizens to learn new filing locations for a single town.
  • May incur administrative costs to update systems, forms, and signage to reflect the transfer of jurisdiction.
  • Could result in lost or mishandled files during the transition period, leading to government inefficiency.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 2 additions · 2 deletions

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 8-8-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 8-8 entitled "District Court" is hereby amended to read as follows: 8-8-2. Divisions.

(a) For the distribution of court business, the state is divided into four (4) divisions as follows:

(1) Second division. The second division consists of the city of Newport and the towns of Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Portsmouth, and Tiverton. Appeals and transfers in cases arising in the enumerated cities and towns of the second division shall be transmitted by the clerk of the Second Division District Court to the clerk of the Newport County Superior Court.

(2) Third division. The third division consists of the city of Warwick and the city of Cranston and the towns of Coventry, East Greenwich, Foster, Glocester, Johnston, Lincoln, North Kingstown, North Providence, North Smithfield, Scituate, Smithfield, West Greenwich and West Warwick. Appeals and transfers in cases arising in the enumerated cities and towns of the third division shall be transmitted by the clerk of the Third Division District Court to the clerk of the Kent County Superior Court.

(3) Fourth division. The fourth division consists of the towns of Charlestown, Exeter, Hopkinton, Narragansett, New Shoreham, North Kingstown, Richmond, South Kingstown, and Westerly. Appeals and transfers in cases arising in the enumerated cities and towns of the fourth division shall be transmitted by the clerk of the Fourth Division District Court to the clerk of the Washington County Superior Court.

(4) Sixth division. The sixth division consists of the cities of Central Falls, East Providence, Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket and the towns of Barrington, Bristol, Burrillville, Cumberland and Warren. Appeals and transfers in cases arising in the enumerated cities and towns of the sixth division shall be transmitted by the clerk of the Sixth Division District Court to the clerk of the Providence County Superior Court.

(b) In each division the place or places for holding court shall be designated by the chief judge.

(c) The district court shall have a seal for each of its divisions, which shall contain the words, “District court of the State of Rhode Island, division.”

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect two (2) months after passage.