It’s the end of July and the Rhode Island Supreme Court has not published an opinion since July 3. The hiatus likely means the Court is done for term 2017-2018 and will not issue another published opinion until the 2018-2019…
Tag: RI Supreme Court
What is the Practice of Law, Anyway? The Rhode Island Supreme Court Will Soon Tell Us.
Under long-standing rules, only lawyers can practice law by representing other people in legal matters. The only general exception to this rule is that non-lawyer natural persons can represent themselves. Representing yourself in a legal matter is called acting “pro…
R.I. Supreme Court or Bust: May 9 Is Your Last Chance to Watch Oral Argument Until the Fall
The Rhode Island Supreme Court will hold its final day of oral argument for term ’17-’18 on Wednesday, May 9 at 9:30 a.m. For all you appellate aficionados out there, it’s your last chance to watch the Supreme Court in…
The Top 11 Reasons Why the R.I. State Law Library is Awesome!
The Rhode Island State Law Library is one of the jewels of the Rhode Island legal system. It’s a great place for research and a jumping-off point for difficult legal questions. Still not sold on taking a field trip to…
The Score is 167,504 to 759. So yeah, the State Courts Handle a Few More Cases Than the Federal Court
167,504 to 759. It sounds like a lopsided cricket score (those matches go on forever!), but it’s really the number of proceedings filed in Rhode Island state courts versus the Rhode Island federal court in 2016, the most recent year…
Law Nerd Legal Nirvana: Federal Jury Selection and R.I. Supreme Court Oral Argument Today!
It’s been a long winter. And then we all lost power from the big storm. But not to worry – there’s nothing to recharge those batteries like watching legal advocacy! Today, you can witness jury selection in the federal courthouse…
The Ways of Legal Citation for Court Documents in the D.R.I.
The “First Circuit,” “1st Cir.”, “CA1,” “the Circuit,” or “the Court” — these are all ways to refer to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, depending on the type of citation system. The most common guide…
Reconsidering the Non-Reconsideration of Motions to Reconsider in State Court
The mulligan is one of the great unwritten rules in golf. Smack a duck hook in the water? No problemo, tee up a new ball. Completely whiff with a massive John Daly-esque swing, but the wind pushes the ball one…
Feds say POTato, State says PotATO, Let’s Call The Whole Pleading Thing Off
Federal and state courts each have their own separate rules of civil procedure, but it’s a long-standing tenet of Rhode Island law that state and federal rules with similar language are generally interpreted the same. Heal v. Heal, 762 A.2d…
Is Justice Robinson The New Great Dissenter?
In recent times, Rhode Island Supreme Court opinions have been chummy affairs. You might see a dissent here and there, but for the most part, the decisions are unanimous. The last robust period of dissent occurred during the colorful tenure…