Legislation

Under state law, municipalities can charge no more than $500 for violations of municipal ordinances that do not rise to the level of criminal offenses. Under this legislation, that number could have doubled.

We opposed legislation which would provide unlimited authority to the Attorney General to conduct civil investigations in virtually every corner of public or private life.

The ACLU of Rhode Island strongly opposed this legislation, introduced on behalf of the Attorney General, which would give his office veto power over a criminal defendant’s current legal right to waive their right to a jury trial.

We opposed this bill, noting that the complete abandonment of any statute of limitations hobbles the due process rights of ciriminal defendants.

We strongly supported this bill which would provide long-overdue mechanisms to enforce the state Constitution’s Declaration of Rights, which “guarantees” the State’s residents critically important civil liberties.