A Judicial Warrant
Rhode Island bill would shield courtgoers from civil arrest
The Protect Our Courts Act covers parties, witnesses and some family or household members while they go to a hearing, stay for it or head home. It would not block criminal arrests or contempt cases.
Rhode Island’s Protect Our Courts Act would keep people in good-faith court proceedings from being civilly arrested while they go to court, attend a hearing or leave. The shield would extend to parties, potential witnesses and some family or household members. It would not stop criminal arrests or contempt of court.
- Protects people going to, attending and leaving court in good faith
- Covers parties, potential witnesses and some family or household members
- Does not block criminal arrests or contempt of court
- In Rhode Island, a trip to court could come with a new legal buffer
- The Protect Our Courts Act would keep people attending a court proceeding in good faith from being civilly arrested while they are going to court, at court and on the way home, unless a judicial warrant or other judicial order authorizes the arrest
In Rhode Island, a trip to court could come with a new legal buffer. The Protect Our Courts Act would keep people attending a court proceeding in good faith from being civilly arrested while they are going to court, at court and on the way home, unless a judicial warrant or other judicial order authorizes the arrest. The point is to make sure parties and potential witnesses can show up without wondering whether a civil pickup will keep them away.
The bill adds the rule to Title 12, the state’s criminal procedure code. It is built around one practical concern: if people fear being picked up on the way to a hearing, they may stay home instead of testifying or taking part in the case.
Who the shield covers
The protection is not limited to the person whose name is on the case. It would also apply to a potential witness, and to a family or household member when that person is a party or potential witness in the proceeding.
That wider reach matters because courtrooms often depend on people close to the dispute showing up when asked. If those people are worried a civil arrest could interrupt the trip, the hearing can lose the testimony or participation it needs before anyone gets heard.
Where the line stops
The bill draws a tight boundary around what counts as civil arrest. It excludes arrests meant primarily to prepare someone for criminal prosecution, and it excludes arrests for contempt of court in the proceeding where the case is being heard.
So this is not an all-purpose immunity from arrest. It is a narrow shield for court access, aimed at keeping people from being sidelined by civil process when they are trying to answer a summons, support a case or testify in good faith.