R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-5-3 (2026)

Issuance and contents

✓ text as last checked Sept. 2026 (this copy records no edition or section history)
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(a) A warrant shall issue only upon complaint in writing, under oath of:

(1) A chief of police, deputy chief of police or other members of the police force of any city or town, or deputy sheriff of any county, member of the division of state police, full time conservation officer of the department of environmental management, or other person specifically authorized by law to bring complaints for violation of the law which it is his or her responsibility to enforce;

(2) Additionally, in the case of property stolen, embezzled, or obtained by fraud or false pretenses, any person who has a right to the possession of the property.

(3) Additionally, a sworn law enforcement member of any city or town where that member is serving on a statewide task force.

(b) Within fourteen (14) days of the issuance of any warrant under this chapter, whether or not executed, the warrant, accompanied by any supporting affidavits and an inventory of any property seized, shall be returned to the district court having jurisdiction over the place of the search or, in the event of a warrant that is not executed, the court from which it was issued. The returns shall be maintained by the district court according to the date of issuance. If not otherwise indicated, the return shall note whether the warrant was executed.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1 case, 1980–1980 · leading case: State v. Kowal, 423 A.2d 1380 (R.I. 1980).
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State v. Kowal, 423 A.2d 1380 (R.I. 1980). · cites it 2× “He thus contends that a search warrant directed to the entire dwelling unit was a violation of the requirements of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and art.”
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.