R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-17-9 (2026)

Defendant as witness

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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No respondent in a criminal prosecution, offering himself or herself as a witness, shall be excluded from testifying because he or she is a respondent; and neglect or refusal so to testify shall create no presumption nor be used in argument against him or her.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1978–2002 · leading case: State v. Andrews, 390 A.2d 926 (R.I. 1978).
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State v. Andrews, 390 A.2d 926 (R.I. 1978). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-17-9] which provide defendant with protections that, at least for purposes of this case, are coextensive with his fifth amendment right to remain silent.”
State v. Feole, 797 A.2d 1059 (R.I. 2002). · cites it 4× “" G.L. 1956 § 12-17-9. [5] The defendant may have waived his right to examination by his attorney when, in response to the court's admonishment that his attorney "has to ask you questions," defendant responded, "[n]o, no, I want be finished the testimony question, I want him to…”
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.