R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-17-1 (2026)

Trial in superior court only on indictment, information, or appeal — Venue

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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No person shall be put on trial for any offense before the superior court except upon indictment found by a grand jury, or upon an information signed by the attorney general or one of the attorney general’s designated assistants, or upon appeal from the sentence of a district court, and, unless otherwise provided by law, the trial shall be held before the superior court in the county in which the offense may lawfully be alleged to have been committed or shall have been committed and not elsewhere, but this provision and all other general and special provisions fixing the venue of criminal actions shall be subject to the exception that proceedings by indictment, information, or on appeal for offenses alleged to have been committed or committed in the county of Bristol shall be had in the county of Providence.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 1960–1981 · leading case: Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 437 A.2d 542 (R.I. 1981).
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Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 437 A.2d 542 (R.I. 1981). · cites it 5× “625, § 31; G.L. 1956 § 12-17-1; G.L. 1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-17-1.”
State v. Bucci, 430 A.2d 746 (R.I. 1981). “173, § 5, and was accorded a trial de novo in the Superior Court in accordance with § 12-17-1, as amended by P.L.1974, ch. 118, § 13.”
State v. McGuire, 157 A.2d 657 (R.I. 1960). “A defendant who is aggrieved by the sentence of a district court justice for any offense has the *304 right under §12-22-1 to appeal to the superior court and under §12-17-1 he has the right to a trial in such court.”
State v. Harris, 300 A.2d 267 (R.I. 1973). “Subject to minor exceptions, that is still the law, and §12-17-1 stipulates that “ * * * unless otherwise provided by law, such trial shall be held before the superior court in the county in which the offense may lawfully be alleged to have been committed or shall have been…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.