Being Arrested
R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-20 — a telephone within one hour to reach a lawyer or arrange bail, and no unnecessary force
A peace officer may arrest without a warrant for a felony on reasonable ground to believe one was committed by the person. For a misdemeanor, the officer also needs reasonable ground to believe the person cannot be arrested later, or may cause injury or damage unless arrested now.
- No greater restraint than is necessary is used to detain anyone, and no unnecessary or unreasonable force is used in an arrest.
- A person arrested is given the use of a telephone to reach a lawyer or arrange bail, as soon as practicable and within one hour of being detained.
- Those calls are carried out so the conversation stays confidential.
When a person held for drunk driving has to be taken straight to a medical facility, the call may come later than an hour, as soon as practicable.
Several rules about an arrest come from the Supreme Court of the United States rather than from this state's code. It has held that before questioning a person in custody, officers must warn that the person may remain silent, that anything said can be used against them, and that they have a right to a lawyer, appointed if they cannot afford one; that a person arrested without a warrant is entitled to a prompt decision by a judge on whether there was probable cause; and that officers generally need a warrant to search the data on a phone taken from a person they arrested. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Whether a particular arrest was lawful is a question for a licensed Rhode Island attorney.
Sources for this section (7)
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-3 — Arrest without warrant for misdemeanor or petty misdemeanor
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-4 — Arrest without warrant for felony
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-8 — Restraint and force used
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 12-7-20 — Right to use telephone for call to attorney; Bail bondsperson
- Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966) — Right to remain silent and to counsel during custodial interrogation
- County of Riverside v. McLaughlin, 500 U.S. 44 (1991) — Probable cause review generally within 48 hours of a warrantless arrest
- Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014) — Police need a warrant to search a phone seized during an arrest
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Rhode Island attorney.