Rhode Island’s court system offers a free online case lookup often called Court Connect, though its official name is the Rhode Island Judiciary Public Portal. You can reach it at courts.ri.gov and search by a person’s name or a case number without registering or paying. What you’ll see is docket information: parties, charges, filing history, hearing dates, warrants, and outstanding court debt. The full text of filed documents is not available remotely to the general public.
Where to Find the Portal
Go to courts.ri.gov and open the “Public Resources” section, then “Access to Case Information.”1Rhode Island Judiciary. Access to Case Information – Public Resources No username, password, or account is needed for basic searches. A web browser is the only requirement.
The nickname “CourtConnect” is common, but the judiciary’s official term is the Rhode Island Judiciary Public Portal. Both point to the same tool.
How to Search for a Case
The main search tool is labeled Smart Search. Enter a person’s name in last name, first name format, or paste a case number for a direct match.2Rhode Island Public Defender. Find Case Information Filters let you narrow by filing date range or by court, which matters when a common name pulls back a long list.
Search results show matching cases with a case number and the court where the case sits. Click a case number to open its register of actions, which is the chronological docket. That’s where the substance is.
What the Docket Shows You
The register of actions gives you a timeline of the case. You can see the parties, the titles of documents that have been filed, and any scheduled future court dates. For criminal cases, you’ll see initial charges, bench warrants, outstanding court debt, and final outcomes like sentences or dismissals.2Rhode Island Public Defender. Find Case Information
What you cannot do from the portal is open the filed documents themselves. Public remote access stops at the docket. To read a motion, order, or brief in full, you either need to be a registered attorney with access to that case or visit the courthouse. Every courthouse in the system has public terminals in the clerk’s office where anyone can review electronic documents during business hours.1Rhode Island Judiciary. Access to Case Information – Public Resources
Which Courts and Case Types Are Covered
The portal pulls from the judiciary’s central database and covers the Superior Court, District Court, Supreme Court, Family Court, Workers’ Compensation Court, and the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal.1Rhode Island Judiciary. Access to Case Information – Public Resources
Coverage is not uniform. Superior Court, District Court, and Supreme Court civil and criminal matters generally show solid docket detail.2Rhode Island Public Defender. Find Case Information Family Court is more restricted. You may see that a case exists, but confidentiality rules block the sensitive details and underlying documents from public view.
Some case types are excluded from public remote access entirely under the Rhode Island Judiciary Rules of Practice Governing Public Access to Electronic Case Information:3Rhode Island Judiciary. Rhode Island Judiciary Rules of Practice Governing Public Access to Electronic Case Information
- Juvenile cases, including delinquency proceedings, are confidential under state law.
- Adoption records are sealed from public access.
- Protection-from-abuse cases involving a juvenile party are non-public.
Federal cases filed in Rhode Island are not in this system at all. Those live in PACER, a separate federal database. Municipal court matters and local ordinance violations may also fall outside the portal’s scope.
How Far Back the Records Go
Cases filed before the judiciary adopted its electronic case management system may not appear online at all. Older matters can require a courthouse visit and a search through physical files.
For cases in the system, retention varies by court. Superior Court criminal indictment files are kept for 30 years and civil files for 20. District Court criminal misdemeanor files are kept for 10 years and civil and small claims files for 20. Family Court juvenile files are retained for 50 years. Traffic Tribunal files are kept for just 3 years.4Rhode Island Judiciary. Rhode Island Judiciary Records Retention Schedule Docket books and index records across most courts are converted to electronic media and retained permanently, so basic docket entries can survive even after the underlying case file is destroyed.
Getting Copies of Court Documents
For an official copy of anything filed in a case, contact the clerk’s office at the court where the case sits. Superior Court’s published fees are $0.10 per page for standard copies, $3.00 for a certified copy, and $9.00 for an exemplified copy, with $3.00 for each additional exemplified page.5Rhode Island Judiciary. Court Filing Fees Superior Court Other state courts use a similar schedule.
One common mistake: court records are not covered by Rhode Island’s Access to Public Records Act. Filing an APRA request will not get you court documents. Go through the clerk’s office instead.6Rhode Island Judiciary. Record, Report, and Document Requests
Fixing an Error in Your Case Record
If you find a mistake in your case information, whether it’s a misspelled name, a wrong charge, or a docket entry that doesn’t match reality, contact the clerk’s office at the court where the case was filed.6Rhode Island Judiciary. Record, Report, and Document Requests APRA is the wrong tool here too.
If incorrect court data has already flowed into a background check or credit report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act adds a separate layer of protection. Consumer reporting agencies must follow reasonable procedures to ensure maximum possible accuracy, which the CFPB has said includes catching obviously false data such as logically impossible dates. Violations can carry actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000 per violation, and punitive damages for willful noncompliance.7Federal Register. Fair Credit Reporting Facially False Data
Removing a Criminal Record From the Portal
If a criminal case of yours shows up on the portal and you want it gone, expungement is the mechanism. When a court expunges a conviction, it’s treated as if it never happened.
First offenders can file a motion to expunge a misdemeanor five years after completing the sentence, or a felony after ten years. Crimes of violence cannot be expunged. All court-imposed fines, fees, and monetary obligations must be paid in full before the court will hear the motion, unless a judge reduces or waives them.8Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 12-1.3-2 – Motion for Expungement
People with multiple misdemeanors and no felonies can also seek expungement if they have fewer than six misdemeanors, with a ten-year wait after completion of the last sentence. DUI-related charges and certain other offenses are excluded from the multiple-misdemeanor provision.8Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 12-1.3-2 – Motion for Expungement
Two situations skip the usual waiting periods. If you completed a deferred sentence, you can file once it’s done. If the offense you were convicted of has since been decriminalized, you can file regardless of the standard eligibility rules.8Rhode Island General Assembly. Rhode Island Code 12-1.3-2 – Motion for Expungement The Rhode Island Attorney General’s office maintains an online eligibility form to help people figure out whether they qualify before filing.9Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office. Expunge My Criminal Record Under Rhode Island Law
For any serious decision based on what you find in the portal, treat the docket as a starting point. Sealed and expunged records won’t appear, non-public case types are invisible, older cases may predate the electronic system, and the docket itself can contain errors that only the clerk can correct.