Summons

Defendant appealed the decision of the Middletown Municipal Court sustaining the violation of R.I.G.L. 1956 § 31-22-22 (safety belt use). The Court held that a defect in the summons did not preclude the Court from sustaining the charge against the defendant. Furthermore, the Appeals Panel held that the trial judge may uphold the secondary offense charge of a seat belt violation where the summons contained the relevant statute and name of the secondary offense but failed to state the underlying primary offense. The Court stated that since the defendant was only charged with the secondary offense and not the underlying offense, he was afforded adequate notice of the only charge against him. Thus, the Court affirmed the decision of the trial judge sustaining the charge against the defendant.

Town of Middletown v. John McNulty, C.A. No. M09-0025 (November 18, 2009).pdf