WHAT THE WORDS MEAN

Also called leaving early

A tenant leaving the unit. The landlord's certified letter gives seven days to reply, and then the landlord tries to re-rent at a fair rental.

Also called road rage

Speeding while also breaking two or more listed rules. It carries $260 to $500 and at least a thirty day suspension.

Also called witnessing a will

Two or more witnesses, present at the same time, signing a will in the presence of the person who made it.

Also called anger management, DV program

A program a person convicted of a domestic violence crime attends at their own expense, ordered as a condition of probation, with a $125 assessment.

Also called BAC, .08

The weight of alcohol in the blood. At .08% or more a driver is in violation, and the first offense tiers change at .1% and .15%.

Also called car seat, booster seat

A federally approved seat a child under eight years and under fifty-seven inches and eighty pounds rides in, in a rear seat.

Also called community service

Hours of public service a court orders as part of a sentence, ten to sixty hours on a first driving under the influence offense.

Also called cognovit clause

A lease term authorizing someone to admit a claim against the tenant without a case. A lease may not include one.

Also called payment fee

A charge on paying rent by a particular method, which a landlord may not add unless another way to pay carries none.

Also called violent felony, prohibited person

A conviction in Rhode Island or elsewhere that bars a person from buying, owning, carrying or possessing any firearm, on pain of two to ten years.

Also called child access gun law

Leaving a firearm where one knows or should know a child under eighteen years or a prohibited person is likely to reach it, when that person does. It carries up to one year or $1,000.

Also called online harassment

Sending electronic communications only to harass a person or their family. A first offense is a misdemeanor of up to one year or $500.

Also called living will, advance directive

A signed statement about withholding life sustaining procedures, witnessed by two people not related to the signer, effective only in a terminal condition.

Also called five day notice, notice to quit

The written notice a landlord mails once rent is fifteen days in arrears, giving five days to pay before an eviction may be filed.

Also called records request denied

A written refusal of a public records request, with specific reasons and the way to appeal, within ten business days. Silence counts as one.

Also called ATV crossing a road

The only way a snowmobile or recreational vehicle may cross a road: at about a right angle, after a complete stop, yielding to traffic.

Also called disturbing the peace, breach of peace

Fighting, unreasonable noise, provoking words, obstructing a way, or interfering with a gathering, done intentionally, knowingly or recklessly. It carries up to six months or $500.

Also called domestic violence

Causing or attempting physical harm, placing someone in fear of serious harm, or forced sexual relations, between family members or certain dating partners.

Also called residency

The place a person lives with the intent to remain. Divorce requires domicile and residence in Rhode Island for one year before filing.

Also called vehicular homicide, reckless homicide

Driving in reckless disregard of others' safety. Where a death results, it carries up to ten years.

Also called underage DUI, zero tolerance

The finding for a driver under eighteen years whose test shows at least .02% but less than .1%. It brings a $150 assessment and a six month suspension.

Also called financial power of attorney

A power of attorney that keeps working after the donor becomes incompetent because it says so in words to that effect.

Also called health care proxy

A statutory form naming an agent to make health care decisions, signed by a resident at least eighteen years of age.

Also called duty to rescue

The duty of anyone at an emergency to give reasonable help to a person facing grave harm, where it is safe. Failing is a petty misdemeanor.

Also called stand your ground

An obligation to withdraw before using force. An owner, tenant or occupier has none toward a person committing a burglary or breaking and entering offense there.

Also called spousal share, widow's share

The share a surviving spouse may take instead of the will's gift, equal to the share without a will, claimed within six months of the first publication.

Also called fleeing police, car chase

Fleeing a police vehicle at more than fifteen miles per hour over the limit, or causing more than $1,000 of damage. A first conviction can mean up to one year and forfeiting the vehicle.

Also called utilities, heat and hot water

Heat, running water, hot water, electric, gas and the like. A landlord who fails to supply one gives the tenant three remedies, and cutting one off to force a tenant out is self help.

Also called homestead exemption

Protection of up to $500,000 of a principal residence from creditors, arising automatically with nothing to file.

Also called independent blood test, own doctor

The right of a person charged with driving under the influence to be examined immediately, at their own expense, by a physician they choose. The officer has to say so.

Also called judgment proof

Property a creditor cannot attach, such as necessary clothing, household goods up to $9,600 and vehicles up to $12,000.

Also called clearing a record, sealing

A court order clearing a conviction from the record, for a first offender after five clean years for a misdemeanor or ten for a felony.

An offense that may be punished by more than one year, or a fine of more than $1,000, unless a statute says otherwise.

Also called aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon

An assault with a dangerous weapon, acid, a dangerous substance or fire, or one causing serious bodily injury, punished by up to twenty years where serious injury results.

Also called car insurance, proof of insurance

The insurance a registered vehicle has to carry. Proof of it may be shown on a mobile electronic device, and the officer may view nothing else there.

A person who may move to expunge a conviction, once all court fines and costs are paid or waived.

Also called habitability, livable

The condition a landlord keeps the premises in, by making all repairs and doing whatever is necessary.

Also called asset forfeiture, seizure

The taking by the state of property and money used in, or bought from, drug manufacturing and dealing offenses.

Also called age of majority, adult

Eighteen years of age, from which a person has the rights once given only at twenty-one, unless a statute says otherwise.

Also called shoplifting

The merchant's stated price of the merchandise, which shoplifting deprives the merchant of.

Also called quitting for a reason

A reason for leaving work that keeps unemployment benefits, such as sexual harassment, following a spouse, or caring for a sick family member.

Also called first aid immunity

Protection from civil damages for ordinary negligence when giving emergency help voluntarily and without pay.

Also called tips, tip credit

Voluntary money a customer pays an employee for service, which an employer may count toward the minimum wage only with substantial evidence of the amount.

Also called handheld phone ban

Using a wireless handset through an earpiece, headset, speaker or similar without the hands, except to activate a feature. It is the only phone use allowed while driving.

Also called identity theft

Making or using false identification, or another's identification or financial information, to defraud. A first conviction carries up to three years.

Also called breath lock, car breathalyzer

A device that keeps a vehicle from starting without a breath test, which the court may require after a conviction.

Also called breathalyzer law, deemed consent

Every driver is deemed to have consented to chemical tests of breath, blood, saliva or urine. A first refusal brings $200 to $500 and a suspension of six months to one year.

Also called recording a call, one party consent

Overhearing or recording a wire, electronic or oral communication. It is not unlawful where the person is a party to the communication or one of the parties gave prior consent.

Also called dome light

The duty to turn on a stopped vehicle's interior lights from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise, until the officer allows the vehicle to go.

Also called no will

Dying without a will. A spouse with no children of the decedent takes $50,000 and half of the rest of the personal property.

Also called no fault divorce

Differences that have caused the irremediable breakdown of a marriage, a ground for divorce regardless of fault.

Also called theft, stealing

Stealing property or money. Value of not more than $1,500 is punished by up to one year; above that, felonies by value.

Also called high capacity magazine

A magazine banned to make, sell, buy or possess, apart from dealers, police and service members, punished by up to five years or $5,000.

Also called Section 8, housing voucher

A protected ground under fair housing law. Only an owner of a building of three units or less who lives in one may refuse on it.

Also called hit and run

Failing to stop and stay at a crash that injures someone or damages an attended vehicle. With vehicle damage only it is a misdemeanor of $500 to $1,000.

Also called carry permit, concealed carry license

A license a city or town issues to an applicant twenty-one years of age or over with a proper reason who is a suitable person, good everywhere in the state for four years.

Also called right to live in the house

The right to land for one's natural life. A surviving spouse takes the decedent's real estate this way when there is no will.

Also called partial guardianship

A guardian appointed for some areas of decision making rather than all, after a petition and a hearing.

Also called intermediate license, junior license

The second level of a teen license, after six months on a permit, allowing driving alone from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. and with one young passenger in the first twelve months.

Also called double damages, wage theft

An extra award in a wage case, up to two times the unpaid wages, on top of the wages themselves.

Also called loaded rifle in a car, long gun on the highway

A rifle or shotgun that is loaded, or has shells still in its magazine, upon or along a public highway, road, lane or trail. Having one there is punished by up to five years or $5,000.

Also called domestic violence arrest

The rule that an officer at a domestic call arrests the person believed responsible for an assault with injury, a felony assault, a threat of serious harm, or a known order violation.

Also called foreclosure mediation

A meeting with a HUD approved counselor that a lender has to attend before foreclosing on an owner occupied home, within sixty days of the notice.

Also called fired for cause

Deliberate conduct in willful disregard of the employer's interest, or knowingly breaking a reasonable rule. A discharge for it suspends benefits until new earnings reach eight times the weekly rate.

An offense punishable by not more than one year, or not more than $1,000, or both.

Also called normal wear

The deterioration that comes from normal use, which a landlord may not deduct from a deposit.

Also called Good Samaritan law, calling 911

The protection from possession charges for a person who seeks medical help in good faith for an overdose, and for the person who overdosed, when the evidence came from the call.

Also called sick time

Paid time an employee of an employer with eighteen or more employees earns, an hour for every thirty-five worked, up to forty hours a year.

Also called month to month, week to week

A tenancy that renews by the week, month or year. It ends on written notice of ten days, thirty days or three months.

Also called AG permit, open carry permit

A license the attorney general may issue to a person twenty-one years of age or over to carry a pistol, concealed or not, upon a proper showing of need.

Also called legal weed, recreational marijuana

What a person twenty-one years of age or older may do without penalty: one ounce, three mature and three immature plants per dwelling unit, and ten ounces at home.

An offense punishable by not more than six months, or not more than $500, or both.

Also called roadside breathalyzer, PBT

A breath test at the stop that guides whether to arrest. Refusing it is an infraction.

Also called release on conditions, no bail release

Release of a defendant without bail, on conditions the court sets to secure appearance and protect the community.

Also called speed limit

A limit above which speed is evidence it was unreasonable and unlawful: twenty-five miles per hour in a business or residence district, fifty by day elsewhere.

Also called assault weapon, banned gun

A firearm the chapter defines as prohibited. Making, selling, transferring or buying one is punished by up to ten years or $10,000.

Also called restraining order

A family court order against domestic abuse, for a fixed period of no more than three years, which can order the defendant out of the home and firearms surrendered.

Also called mandated reporter

The point at which every person reports suspected child abuse or neglect to the department within twenty-four hours.

Also called castle doctrine, presumed self defense

What the law assumes until evidence shows otherwise. An occupier who injures a burglar is presumed to have acted reasonably in self defense.

Also called bail, surety

A promise to appear and keep the peace, given with sufficient surety in a sum the process names or a justice deems reasonable, on which a person held is released.

Also called medical card, medical marijuana card

The card a qualifying patient carries, protecting medical use of up to twelve mature plants and 2.5 ounces.

Also called getting the job back

Returning an injured worker to the former position on written demand, even if a replacement filled it.

Also called duty at a crash

The duty of a driver in a crash to give reasonable help to anyone injured and to notify the police by the quickest means available.

Also called applying for an apartment

A fee for applying to rent, which a landlord or agent may not require. A report issued within ninety days may not be charged for at all.

Also called self help repair

A tenant's remedy for a repair under $500 a year that the landlord does not make within twenty days of written notice.

Also called resisting an officer

Using force or a weapon against an arrest by a peace officer. It is unlawful whether the arrest is legal or illegal, and carries up to $500 or one year.

Also called retaliation

A rent increase, cut in services or eviction because a tenant complained or organized. Within six months of a complaint it is presumed.

Also called inventory, search warrant return

The warrant sent back to the district court with the affidavits and an inventory of anything seized, within fourteen days of issue, executed or not.

Also called park sale

The notice a park owner gives a residents' association with at least fifty-one percent of households of any offer to buy the park before accepting it.

Also called paying to stay

A tenant's right to end a rent case by paying the full rent before suit, or, without a demand in the past six months, the arrears and costs at the hearing.

Also called three feet, passing a bike

Enough distance when passing a cyclist that there would be no contact if the cyclist fell into the driver's lane.

Also called school zone, gun at school

The property of a public or private elementary or secondary school, a building or stadium in use for a school activity, and school transportation.

Also called eviction record

A court order closing the file of a dismissed, settled or paid eviction case, on a motion made at least thirty days after the appeal period.

Also called deposit

Money a landlord holds against unpaid rent, cleaning and damage, capped at one month's rent and returned with an itemized notice within twenty days.

Also called lockout, illegal eviction

A landlord taking possession without a court, by changing locks or cutting services. The tenant may recover three months' rent or three times the damages.

Also called serious injury

Injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes lasting loss or impairment of a body part or organ, or serious permanent disfigurement.

Also called assault and battery

An assault or battery without the aggravating features of felony assault, punished by up to one year or $1,000.

Also called small claims court

The procedure for money claims up to $5,000, which a plaintiff elects by waiving an appeal.

Also called following, harassment

Harassing someone, or willfully and repeatedly following them meaning to put them in fear of bodily injury. A felony of up to five years.

Also called time limit to sue

The time within which a lawsuit has to be filed: three years for a personal injury and ten years for most civil actions.

Also called drag racing

Two or more drivers competing on a public road, or racing against time, with or without a formal agreement. A first conviction is a misdemeanor.

Also called window tint

Film or other material on a vehicle's windows. It is allowed on the windshield and front side windows if it lets through not less than seventy percent of visible light.

Also called phone call, one call

The use of a telephone to reach a lawyer or arrange bail, given as soon as practicable and within one hour of detention, in a way that keeps the call confidential.

Also called investigative stop, being detained

Holding a person reasonably suspected of a crime to ask a name, address, business and destination. It may not exceed two hours and is not recorded as an arrest.

Also called ex parte order, emergency order

An order made before the other side is heard, on sworn facts of immediate harm, lasting no more than twenty-one days unless extended.

Also called lemon law period

One year or fifteen thousand miles from delivery of a new vehicle, whichever comes first, during which the lemon law applies.

Also called triple damages

An award of three times the actual damages, which the court may give in a consumer case.

Also called revenge porn, image based abuse

Sharing a private sexual image of an adult without consent, knowing or recklessly disregarding the harm. A first violation is a misdemeanor.

Also called minor in possession, MIP

Having an alcoholic beverage before one's twenty first birthday. A first offense is $150 to $750, with thirty hours of community service and a license suspension.

Also called consumer fraud

A dishonest or unfair practice in trade, for which a consumer recovers actual damages or $500, whichever is greater.

Also called safe storage, gun lock law

Leaving a firearm somewhere other than in a locked container, or without a tamper resistant lock engaged, when no authorized user is close enough to carry it.

Also called open container

Any opened container of alcohol in the passenger section of a vehicle on a public highway. A first violation is up to $200 or up to six months off the road.

Also called dangerous dog

A dog declared vicious, kept in a locked enclosure and out only muzzled on a leash no longer than three feet.

Also called civil violation, infraction

An offense punishable only by a fine of not more than $500.

Also called small estate affidavit

A relative or interested person who handles an estate of personal property up to $15,000 by a sworn statement, after thirty days.

Also called pedestrian, cyclist

A pedestrian, cyclist, worker or officer outside a vehicle, wheelchair user, skater or rider. Injuring one through lack of due care brings a fine of $200 to $1,000.

Also called waiting week

Seven consecutive days of unemployment before benefits are payable, once in a benefit year.

Also called trespassing, told to leave

Remaining on another's land or at a home with no legitimate purpose after being forbidden by the owner or the person entitled to possession. It carries up to $1,000 or one year.