(a)  Any person aggrieved by any decision of the board or council may present to the supreme court a verified petition stating that the decision is illegal in whole or in part and specifying the grounds of illegality. The petition shall be presented to the court within thirty (30) days after the filing of the decision.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 45-23.1-5

  • 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.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
  • Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.

(b)  Upon presentation of the petition, the court may allow a writ of certiorari directed to the board or council to review the decision of the board or council, and shall prescribe in the writ the time within which a return shall be made, which shall not be less than ten (10) days and may be extended by the court. The allowance of the writ does not stay proceedings upon the decision appealed from, but the court may, on application, on due cause shown, grant a restraining order.

(c)  The board or council is not required to return the original papers acted on by it, but it is sufficient to return certified or sworn copies of the original papers, or portions of them, as may be called for by the writ. The return shall concisely state other facts that may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the decision appealed from and shall be verified.

(d)  If upon the hearing, it appears to the court that testimony is necessary for the proper disposition of the matter, it may take evidence or appoint a master to take evidence as it may direct, and report the evidence to the court with his or her findings of fact and conclusions of law, which shall constitute a part of the proceedings upon which the determination of the court shall be made.

(e)  The court may reverse or affirm wholly or partly or may modify the decision brought up for review.

History of Section.
P.L. 1962, ch. 89, § 1.