Municipal Court Legislation Approved

Legislation has been approved by the General Assembly to give Barrington a municipal court. It's now up to the Town Council to decide if it wants to set up a court or not.

The legislation first goes to Gov. Chafee. It was sponsored in the state Senate by Sen. David Bates (Barrington/Bristol) and in the state House by Rep. Jan Malik (Barrington/Warren).

Bates and Malik introduced the bills at the request of the Town Council to get the ball rolling. See Patch story last December.

Under the bills, the Town Council will appoint a judge and enact ordinances governing the personnel, operation and procedure of the court and establish a schedule of fees and costs.

Municipal courts in Rhode Island usually meet once or twice a month. A local attorney is appointed judge in most cases.

Barrington is one of about 10 cities or towns in Rhode Island without a municipal court. If established, it would handle violations of the dog ordinance, harbors, trespassing, disorderly conduct, minimum housing, zoning and local traffic laws.

The court would be allowed to impose sentences up of to 30 days and fines of up to $500.

The court is expected to accelerate the legal process while cutting the costs of police and town officials traveling to courts outside of Barrington.