Opinion ID: 1470383
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Adjudicated Cases

Text: Lastly, we note that, in his decision, the District Court judge declared his intention to entertain and grant a motion to transfer to the Family Court any adjudicated case of a seventeen-year-old in which the sentence or probationary term has not been completed. We deem this error. Cases for which final judgments have been entered are not subject to transfer to another court unless the convictions are vacated, in accordance with the provisions of the postconviction remedy that are set forth in G.L.1956 chapter 9.1 of title 10. Additionally, we address the portion of the November Amendment that purports to direct the manner in which court records shall be maintained for cases in which a final judgment has entered. [11] Section 14-1-6.1(a)(ii) provides that upon a final disposition in a case that was adjudicated pursuant to the July Amendment, all court records shall be sealed, including records of any sentence, probation, or parole imposed. (2007 Spec. Supp.) The Legislature is not free to exercise this judicial power, nor may it enact legislation purporting to affect court judgments. See Opinion of Supreme Court upon the Act to Reverse the Judgment against Dorr, 3 R.I. 299, 311 (1854) (The Court determined that the Legislature does not have the authority to mandate what shall be written on the face of the record in a case. [T]his course of proceeding is indispensable to the safety of parties who have a direct interest in the preservation of the records   .). Because these cases were not brought on behalf of any person whose case has been adjudicated, as defendants have argued, those adjudicated cases are not before us. However, the remedy of postconviction relief is available to anyone who may be aggrieved by a criminal conviction or disposition.