The Intersection of Family Law and Criminal Law in Rhode Island – Untangling the Web!
sentence or a filing.
<b>What is a no contact order? </b>
In Rhode Island, A “no contact order” means that the defendant is precluded from having any contact and or communication with the victim or the person under the protection of the no contact order. This includes but is not limited to letters, emails, text messages or messages delivered through a third party.
In other words if a person is under a no contact order and sees the victim in public they must leave the area immediately and not acknowledge the victims existence. A person cannot even say “hi” if they walk by the victim by chance on the street.
A person can be arrested under Rhode Island law for violating a no contact order even if the victim initiates the contact and calls the defendant. A person can be charged with breaking a no contact order even if invited by his wife to come back to the marital home.
<b>Dropping / dismissing the no contact order</b>
The police cannot drop a no contact order. Only a judge can drop a no contact order. The victim can attempt to drop the no contact order at the arraignment. Prior to approaching the judge at the arraignment, the victim must speak with the domestic violence counselor at Court. The judge may dismiss the no contact order at the arraignment.
However, in the event that the alleged abuse is severe or there is a documented history of abuse then the judge may refuse to drop the no contact order. The no contact order may not be dropped by the judge if the victim states that she is still afraid of the accused. It is much easier to drop the no contact order at the pretrial hearing then it is to drop it at the arraignment. Some judges are hesitant to drop the no contact order at the arraignment. The judge will typically ask the police who are present at the arraignment whether they have any objections to the no contact order being dropped
<b>Can the victim dismiss the no contact order after the arraignment but before the pretrial conference?</b>
In the event that the victim wants to drop the no contact order after the arraignment but before the pretrial the victim can go to the clerk and ask that the file be brought in front of the judge. After conferring with the domestic advocate the judge will rule on whether the no contact order will be dropped.
<b>Can the no contact order be dropped at the pretrial conference?</b>
The victim who wants to cancel the no contact order will have another opporunity at the pretrial conference. The pretrial conference is typically scheduled a couple of weeks after the arraignment. At the pretrial conference, the victim can approach the judge and again seek to have the no contact order dropped
<b>Will the criminal judge in District Court resolve visitation or custody issues? </b>
No.
The criminal Court will not get involved in any family related issues such as child custody, child support, alimony ,paternity, relocation out of state, equitable division of marital property, visitation, payment of marital bills, payment of mortgage, payment of credit cards, disposition of the marital real estate, etc. Those issues are the province of the Rhode Island Family Court not the District court !The District Court is where criminal misdemeanor cases are heard.
The Court has the power to order restitution to the victim for any actual damages suffered by the victim as a result of the crime such as destruction of property, medical bills, stolen funds etc.
The District Court in a criminal case cannot be involved in setting visitation or dealing with issues concerning divorce or custody of the minor children. The Rhode Island Family Court is the proper Forum for dealing with issues related to divorce and child custody such as: child support, visitation, financial restraining orders and issues concerning marital property, marital real estate and debt.
<b> Obtaining personal belongings (property) when there is a no contact order. </b>
There are several proper ways for an accused to obtain his / her personal belongings when there is a no contact order in effect. Personal belongings usually consists of personal property such as clothes, sneakers, uniforms, personal effects etc. The accused can contact the police department where the victim resides and seek to make arrangements to pick up personal belongings. The police will often escort the person to the home. The downside of this arrangement is that the police often are in a rush and enforce a severe draconian time limit.
If the accused has a private attorney, he can contact the victims attorney who can contact the victim to make arrangements . This can have its pitfalls because the victim may be hostile or the victim may have no interest in negotiating
The accused can attempt to arrange to get his belongings through a