Justice Served

Mammoth’s “Mac Daddy” flower growing in its facility. Photography by Angel Tucker

When Rhode Island legalized recreational cannabis last year, the new law required that all past charges of adult cannabis possession be automatically expunged. It was an important provision for social equity advocates (and anyone who’s ever been caught smoking pot). It’s the first time in Rhode Island court history an entire category of charges has been systematically wiped out.

“We really don’t have automatic expungement in other types of cases,” says Julie Hamil, Rhode Island state court administrator.

To fulfill the requirement, Hamil’s staff had to first comb the records of the state’s District, Superior and Traffic Tribunal courts and remove all cases in which cannabis possession was the only charge. This first phase, completed this past April, resulted in the expungement of 23,617 charges across the state.

In the second phase, now underway, Hamil and her staff are addressing those cases where a possession charge is paired with another charge, such as a traffic violation — a trickier task, since staff must expunge one charge without removing the other.

“The legislation requires that we finish that by July of 2024, and I have every confidence that we will get there,” she says.

The expungements also filter through the attorney general’s office, where staff remove the records from state and federal criminal history databases. Hamil expects to expunge an additional 12,522 charges by next July. Those who need their records expunged sooner can request an expedited expungement.

“I certainly understand how important this is. It’s involved, and we’re doing what we need to do to make sure we get it right,” Hamil says.

To check if a charge has been expunged, visit the online state judiciary portal or call the clerk’s office of the appropriate court. If the charge has been successfully expunged, no record of it will exist. For information on how to request an expedited expungement, visit courts.ri.gov.