Administratively seals, upon request of the defendant following the conclusion of the matter in district court, individual counts of any criminal complaints dismissed pursuant to Rule 48(a) that were filed on or after October 1, 2026.

Plain-English Summary

This bill deals with court records in Rhode Island's district court system. Specifically, it would allow certain dismissed criminal charges to be "administratively sealed" — meaning hidden from public view — under specific circumstances. The bill focuses on charges that are dropped by prosecutors using a legal procedure called "Rule 48(a)," which allows the government to dismiss a case or individual counts (separate charges within a case) without necessarily needing the court's approval.

Under this bill, if a prosecutor drops one or more charges against a defendant using Rule 48(a), the defendant could request that those dismissed charges be sealed from their record. This would only apply to charges filed on or after October 1, 2026, and the defendant would need to make the request after the full matter in district court has been resolved. Sealing the record means that, for most practical purposes, those dismissed charges would not show up in background checks or public court records.

This bill primarily affects people who have had criminal charges filed against them but later dropped by prosecutors. Without this kind of protection, dismissed charges can still appear on a person's record and potentially affect their ability to get a job, housing, or professional licenses — even though the case never resulted in a conviction. By allowing these records to be sealed upon request, the bill aims to reduce the lasting consequences of charges that the government itself chose not to pursue.

Currently, the bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee and has been held for further study, meaning lawmakers have not yet moved it forward for a full vote.