How does a person obtain his or her personal belongings in Rhode Island (RI) when there is a criminal no contact order / Family Court restraining order or District Court Restraining Order?
A person arrested for a criminal domestic violence offense involving his wife or girlfriend, who he resides with, often needs to obtain his clothes and personal belongings despite the fact that there is a no contact order in effect˳ This also applies when there is a restraining order in effect˳
Personal belongings usually consists of personal property such as clothes, sneakers, toiletries, uniforms, personal effects etc˳
There are several proper ways for an accused to obtain his / her personal belongings when there is a no contact order / restraining order in effect:
(1) The accused can contact the police department where the victim resides and seek to make arrangements to pick up personal belongings˳ The police will often escort the person to the home˳ The downside of this arrangement is that the police often are in a rush and enforce a time limit˳
(2) If the accused has a private attorney, the lawyer can contact the victims attorney who can contact the victim to make arrangements˳ The accused’s attorney can also seek to contact the victim to make arrangements (if the victim has no lawyer)˳ This can have pitfalls because the victim may be hostile or the victim may have no interest in negotiating˳ The accused can also call the victims lawyers to make arrangements˳
(3) The accused can attempt to arrange to get his belongings through a third party such as a friend or family member who knows the victim˳ The accused must be careful not to violate the no contact order˳
(4) The accused can seek relief from the Family Court or the District Court where the restraining orders were filed in an attempt to retrieve their belongings˳
If there is a criminal no contact order the Criminal Judge will not get involved in helping retrieve the accuseds’ personal property˳
There is absolutely no Rhode Island (RI) case law concerning this matter!
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