At their July 13th meeting, the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voted to extend the state’s moratorium on utility shutoffs by National Grid through November 1st, 2020 for low-income utility customers and through September 30th, 2020 for all other residential utility customers. Citing a number of the arguments articulated in the Public Comment submitted…

Since the year 2000, nearly 5,000 identified Black men, women and children have been killed in fatal encounters with police across the United States.  A Washington Post investigation found that the FBI undercounts fatal police shootings by more than half because reporting by police departments is voluntary.  Until recently there was no comprehensive national database…

New District Court Eviction Protocol On March 22, 2020 the Rhode Island District Court issued Administrative Order 2020-03 regarding District Court Eviction Protocol. The order sets out a phased re-opening of the District Court, with a plan to re-schedule hearings for cases that have already been filed, and new guidelines for cases filed on or after June…

Per Rhode Island Supreme Court Executive Order 2020-04, all non-emergency matters—including judicial eviction proceedings—are on hold until at least April 17, 2020. However, courts are not staying removal of tenants for whom a judge has already issued a writ of execution.

This means that new evictions are not being processed, and in-process evictions are on hold, but where a court has already ordered that an eviction can proceed, sheriffs are allowed to remove tenants.

If you are a tenant facing eviction and you are in private housing (that is, not Section 8 or public housing), you can call the Center for Justice at 401-491-1101. If you are in Section 8 or public housing, please call Rhode Island Legal Services at 401-274-2652 (Providence office) or 401-846-2264 (Newport office).

Updated 9/12/19. On September 4th, a group of high school students and Providence parents on behalf of their children filed a motion with the RI Department of Education demanding that a clear plan for the district be shared with the public before it is implemented. Parents and students were joined by representatives of several organizations…

There are “unusually deep, systemic dysfunctions in PPSD’s [Providence Public School District’s] education system that clearly, and very negatively, impact the opportunities of children in Providence,” wrote Johns Hopkins researchers in summarizing their 60-day study of the school district, which was commissioned by Governor Raimondo in April 2019. The unsettling report, published in June, calls…

By Zack Mezera, Providence Student Union, and Jennifer Wood, RI Center for Justice Recent Providence schools graduates Aleita Cook and Ahmed Sesay held back laughs as The Daily Show correspondent Jaboukie Young-White wheeled into a classroom on a hoverboard, doing his worst impression of a modern teenager. The subject of the interview, however, was extremely…

Anuncio traducido abajo. The Center for Justice is excited to announce today the launch of our Family Preparedness Plan website for Rhode Islanders at risk of being deported or detained. This free resource is available in English and Spanish. Six percent of children in the state, almost 13,000 kids, are U.S. citizens living with at least one…

On November 28, 2018, the Rhode Island Center for Justice filed a federal class action suit on behalf of all Rhode Island public-school students, asserting that they have a Constitutional right to an education that is being denied in underfunded school districts. The lawsuit, which was filed with attorney Michael Rebell of Teachers College/Columbia University…

Last Wednesday, October 25, 2017, Governor Gina Raimondo travelled to Fuerza Laboral headquarters to sign new legislation on Workers’ Cooperatives into law. This bill, which the Center for Justice supported and   clarified and standardized the means for workers to own the businesses they work at, is a tremendous boon to the working people of Rhode…