(a)  Whenever any person shall be arraigned before the district court or superior court and shall plead nolo contendere, and the court places the person on probation pursuant to § 12-18-1, then upon the completion of the probationary period, and absent a violation of the terms of the probation, the plea and probation shall not constitute a conviction for any purpose. Evidence of a plea of nolo contendere followed by a period of probation, completed without violation of the terms of the probation, may not be introduced in any court proceeding, except that records may be furnished to a sentencing court following the conviction of an individual for a crime committed subsequent to the successful completion of probation on the prior offense.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 12-18-3

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.

(b)  This section shall not apply to any person who is sentenced to serve a term in the adult correctional institutions or who is given a suspended or deferred sentence in addition to probation.

(c)  The provisions of this section shall not apply to persons making applications for the purchase of a firearm, or to persons making applications for permission to carry a concealable weapon, if the crime for which the plea was entered was a crime of violence as defined in § 11-47-2 or the plea was entered pursuant to chapter 28 of Title 21. In these cases a plea of nolo contendere followed by probation shall be deemed a conviction for the purposes stated in this subsection.

History of Section.
P.L. 1982, ch. 354, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 409, § 1; P.L. 1990, ch. 284, § 1.