R.I. Gen. Laws
Rhode Island General Laws

R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-3-6 (2026)

Justices as conservators of peace — Powers in criminal cases

✓ current as of July 2026
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The justices of the supreme and superior court shall, by virtue of their office, be severally conservators of the peace throughout the state, and shall severally have the same power in criminal cases throughout the state that district courts have in their respective districts.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1980–2020 · leading case: State v. Dearmas, 841 A.2d 659 (R.I. 2004).
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State v. Dearmas, 841 A.2d 659 (R.I. 2004). · cites it 3× “2 Section 12-5-2 3 provides, in pertinent part, that a- warrant may issue “to search for and seize any property * * * (4) [w]hich is evidence of the commission of a crime.”
State v. DiStefano, 764 A.2d 1156 (R.I. 2000). · cites it 4× “Section 12-5-1 provides that a search warrant may be issued by any judge of the District Court and that "[n]othing contained in this chapter shall be so construed as to restrain the power of the justices of the supreme or superior courts by virtue of § 8-3-6 to issue a search…”
State v. Gomes, 881 A.2d 97 (R.I. 2005). · cites it 2× “2d at 662 , that the justices of the Superior Court and of the District Court are vested with the authority to issue search warrants by virtue of the provisions of G.L.1956 § 8-3-6 and § 12-5-l(a). However, we went on in Dearmas to hold that “the plain and ordinary understanding…”
State v. Young, 414 A.2d 185 (R.I. 1980). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 8-3-6 provides as follows: “Conservators of peace — Powers in criminal cases.”
State v. Santos, 498 A.2d 1024 (R.I. 1985). “Justices of the Supreme and Superior Courts are authorized to issue warrants by § 8-3-6. 4 . The factual background relative to the origination of clerk's warrants was derived from the agreed statement of facts submitted by the parties.”
State v. Malcolm Querido (R.I. 2020). · cites it 2× “1956 § 12-5-1(a) and G.L. 1956 § 8-3-6 vest the justices of the District and Superior Courts with the authority to issue search warrants.”
State v. Malcolm Querido (R.I. 2020). · cites it 2× “1956 § 12-5-1(a) and G.L. 1956 § 8-3-6 vest the justices of the District and Superior Courts with the authority to issue search warrants.”
State v. Ride, 444 A.2d 854 (R.I. 1982). “1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 8-3-6 as supporting its holding. That statute provides: “Conservators of peace — Powers in criminal cases.”
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.