Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-19-1 (2026)

Legislative declaration — Intent

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

(a) It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state of Rhode Island to guarantee the rights of persons who, because of a non-English speaking background, are unable to readily understand or communicate in the English language, and who consequently need the assistance of an interpreter to be fully protected in legal proceedings in matters before the Rhode Island unified state court system. Court interpretation requires not only a full command of two (2) languages, but also a knowledge of courtroom procedure, legal vocabulary, the overall court and legal systems, and an understanding that the role of an interpreter consists not of abridging or editorializing, but of exactly interpreting every word that is spoken without emendation or amendment.

(b) It is the intent of the legislature, by the enactment of this chapter, to provide interpreters to limited-English-proficient persons in proceedings before the state courts in Rhode Island and to establish a procedure for the certification and appointment of interpreters.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases, 2004–2017 · leading case: State v. Ibrahim, 862 A.2d 787 (R.I. 2004).
State v. Ibrahim, 862 A.2d 787 (R.I. 2004). · cites it 2× “The policy underlying this statute is as follows: “[T]o guarantee the rights of persons who, because of a non-English speaking background, are unable to readily understand or communicate in the English language, and who consequently need the assistance of an interpreter be fully…”
Jean O. Duvere v. State of Rhode Island, 151 A.3d 314 (R.I. 2017). · cites it 3× “As a result, Duvere contends that the hearing justice “should have insisted that a Haitian-Creole interpreter be available at the dis-positive hearing * * pursuant to G.L. 1956 § 8-19-1. Section 8-19-l(a) provides in relevant part: “It is * * * the policy of.”
State v. Lopez-Navor, 951 A.2d 508 (R.I. 2008). · cites it 2× “This statute was enacted: “[T]o guarantee the rights of persons who, because of non-English speaking background, are unable to readily understand or communicate in the English language, and who consequently need the assistance of an interpreter [to] be fully protected in legal…”
Guerrero v. State, 47 A.3d 289 (R.I. 2012). “” General Laws 1956 § 8-19-1 declares that “[i]t is the intent of the [General Assembly] * * * to provide interpreters to non-English speaking persons in criminal proceedings before the state courts in Rhode Island * * That statute is meant to “guarantee the rights of persons…”
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.