Right to Appeal

Defendant appealed the decision of the trial judge imposing sanctions for the violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-27.2.1 (refusal to submit to a chemical test) on remand from the decision of the Appeals Panel.  The defendant argued that the state did not have the right to appeal the original decision of the trial judge and, therefore, the decision of the trial judge to dismiss the violations should not have been overturned.  The Court held that the state had the authority to appeal the decision of the trial judge to the Appeals Panel pursuant to Rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure of the Traffic Tribunal.  Further, the Court noted that the defendant’s reliance on State v. Robinson, 972 A.2d 150 (R.I. 2009), in support of his contention that the state did not have the right to appeal was misguided because Robinson did not apply to appeals from the Traffic Tribunal to the Appeals Panel but held only that, at the time, there was no statutory authority for the state to appeal a decision of the Appeals Panel to the District Court.  Accordingly, the Court sustained the violation.

Town of Bristol v. Richard Dion, C.A. No. T10-0089 (December 8, 2010).pdf