Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 3-7-21 (2026)

Appeals from the local boards to director

✓ current as of July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section RI-LEGwebserver.rilegislature.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) Upon the application of any petitioner for a license, or of any person authorized to protest against the granting of a license, including those persons granted standing pursuant to § 3-5-19, or upon the application of any licensee whose license has been revoked or suspended by any local board or authority, the director has the right to review the decision of any local board, and after hearing, to confirm or reverse the decision of the local board in whole or in part, and to make any decision or order he or she considers proper, but the application shall be made within ten (10) days after the making of the decision or order sought to be reviewed. Notice of the decision or order shall be given by the local or licensing board to the applicant within twenty-four (24) hours after the making of its decision or order and the decision or order shall not be suspended except by the order of the director.

(b) Any appeal or appeals from a decision of any boards located in the towns of Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Portsmouth or Tiverton, or in the city of Newport shall be heard by the director or the director’s designee within Newport County. The petitioner shall provide a stenographer and shall bear the cost to have a transcript made of the proceedings. A free copy of the transcript shall be provided by the petitioner to the director upon receipt of the transcript.

(c) The director may accept into evidence a stenographic transcript of a witness’s sworn testimony presented before the local board that was subject to cross examination. This testimony may be rebutted by competent testimony presented at the hearing held by the director.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24 cases, 1958–2020 · leading case: Hallene v. Smith, 201 A.2d 921 (R.I. 1964).
Hallene v. Smith, 201 A.2d 921 (R.I. 1964). · cites it 13× “ended, in delivering intoxicating beverages to a minor on the licensed premises * * * on November 9th, 1963 and November 14th, 1963 * * The board of license commissioners held a hearing on such complaint on December 2, 1963 and thereupon suspended the license for a period of ten…”
Cesaroni v. Smith, 202 A.2d 292 (R.I. 1964). · cites it 6× “From this decision petitioner appealed to the liquor control administrator pursuant to § 3-7-21. The appeal was heard de novo by the administrator who, dismissing as lacking in merit contentions of petitioner alleging want of jurisdiction in the local board, found on the…”
A.J.C. Enter., Inc. v. Pastore, 473 A.2d 269 (R.I. 1984). · cites it 2× “General Laws 1956 (1976 Reenactment) § 3-7-6 provides that any renewal application that is rejected can be appealed to the administrator pursuant to the provisions of § 3-7-21. The court, in construing § 3-7-21, has ruled that this section gives a licensee a de novo hearing…”
Ramsay v. Sarkas, 295 A.2d 416 (R.I. 1972). · cites it 5× “1 A decision on the question which the parties presented to the Superior Court on agreement would require a construction of the statute conferring appellate jurisdiction upon the state licensing authority, namely, §3-7-21, and the effect thereon of the statute giving to local…”
Tedford v. Reynolds, 141 A.2d 264 (R.I. 1958). · cites it 4× “1956, §3-7-21, the liquor control administrator is by express language granted “the right to review the decision of any local board, and after hearing, to confirm or reverse the same in whole or in part, and to make such decision or order as to him shall seem proper * * By…”
Beacon Restaurant, Inc. v. Adamo, 241 A.2d 291 (R.I. 1968). · cites it 3× “By its nonfeasance the council has, in our opinion, effectively nullified any appeal rights that are available under the provisions of §3-7-21. This section gives the liquor control administrator “* * * the right to review the decision of any local board * * (italics ours) The…”
Earle v. Pastore, 511 A.2d 989 (R.I. 1986). · cites it 3× “396, § 1, provides that the administrator shall review decisions of the local board when the appealing party: “Upon the application of any petitioner * * * hereby authorized to protest against the granting of a license * * * the , liquor control administrator shall have the…”
Manuel J. Furtado, Inc. v. Sarkas, 373 A.2d 169 (R.I. 1977). “1956 (1976 Reenactment) §3-7-21, petitioner appealed that decision to the state Liquor Control Administrator.”
Vitterito v. Sportsman's Lodge & Restaurant, Inc., 228 A.2d 119 (R.I. 1967). · cites it 2× “However, said §3-7-6, as amended, also1 provides, “Any such application may, however, ¡be rejected for cause', subject to appeal as provided in §3-7-21.” Said sec. 21 provides in pertinent part that a licensee whose application has been denied by the local board may, within ten…”
Mathieu v. Bd. of License Commissioners, 343 A.2d 1 (R.I. 1975). · cites it 2× “1956, §3-7-21, petitioner appealed this decision of the town council to the state Liquor Control Administrator.”
Edge-January, Inc. v. Pastore, 430 A.2d 1063 (R.I. 1981). “1956 (1976 Reenactment) § 3-7-21. At the hearing de novo before the Liquor Control Administrator, the certified transcript of the testimony adduced at the hearing before the board was introduced and, by agreement of the parties, was made a part of the appeal record.”
Sunny Day Restaurant, Inc. v. Beacon Restaurant, Inc., 241 A.2d 295 (R.I. 1968). “1956, §3-7-21. Any appeal taken thereafter is to the superior court pursuant to §42-35-15, as amended.”
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.