State v. Briggs
Annotate this CaseIn 2003, after completing their respective deferred sentences, Defendants James Briggs and Anna Matthias unsuccessfully moved to expunge the records of their arrests and pleas. Briggs had pled nolo contendere to second-degree robbery, and Matthias had pled nolo contendere to possession of a controlled substance. After the General Assembly amended R.I. Gen. Laws 12-19-19 in 2010, Defendants filed motions to seal their records. The court denied the motions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the plain language of section 12-19-19, as amended, does not demonstrate a legislative intent by necessary implication that the General Assembly intended the statute to apply to deferred sentences entered into before the 2010 amendments; and (2) the addition of subsection (c) to section 12-19-19 was a substantive amendment and thus not entitled to retroactive application.
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