Arson Laws in Rhode Island

First-degree arson is knowingly creating by fire or explosion a substantial risk of serious harm to a person or damage to a building that is occupied or in use (or was within the prior six months) or any other residential structure; it carries five (5) years to life and/or a fine of $3,000 to $25,000. Second-degree arson (an unoccupied building or structure) and third-degree arson (burning any property to defraud an insurer) each carry two (2) to twenty (20) years and/or a fine (up to $2,500 and $5,000). For first- through third-degree arson, if anyone, including a firefighter, dies as a direct result, the minimum is twenty (20) years. Fourth-degree arson (another person's personal property worth over $100) carries one (1) to three (3) years and/or up to $1,000; attempted arson (fifth degree) carries one (1) to twenty (20) years or up to $1,000; and setting woodland fires that spread (sixth degree) carries up to two (2) years and/or up to $1,000.

Rhode Island's rule on court-appointed lawyers: The state Office of the Public Defender must represent and act as attorney for indigent defendants in criminal cases referred by the supreme, superior and district courts (and listed family court cases). An indigent defendant is a person who, after payment of necessary expenses for food, shelter and medical care, lacks sufficient income or assets to retain counsel and has no one legally responsible for his or her support who has such income or assets. To qualify, the applicant swears to an affidavit to that effect; the public defender may request further financial information or documents and investigate, and if the person is not indigent, notifies the referring court. False representation is penalized under § 12-15-11. R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 12-15-3, 12-15-8, 12-15-9

Lawyers set their own fees, and Rhode Island has rules on how they may charge. See hiring a criminal defense lawyer in Rhode Island for fee rules, how to check a lawyer's license and free help.

How release before trial works in Rhode Island: All persons imprisoned ought to be bailed by sufficient surety, unless for offenses punishable by imprisonment for life, for offenses involving the use or threat of use of a dangerous weapon by one already convicted of a qualifying offense (as the section specifies), or for listed controlled-substance offenses (such as trafficking, possession with intent to distribute, or possession punishable by ten or more years), when the proof of guilt is evident or the presumption great. There is no constitutional right to bail pending appeal of a conviction. A justice of the supreme, superior or district court may release a person held on a criminal charge on recognizance in the sum named in the process or, if none, any sum the justice deems reasonable. Surety, or a deposit of ten percent (10%) of the bail set with the court, is the sole monetary condition of release; a court may not require a cash deposit as the sole monetary condition (except where court-imposed restitution is owed), and a deposit is returned if the defendant appears as required. R.I. Const. art. I, § 9; R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 12-13-1, 12-13-10 What happens after an arrest.

Each state sets its own rules for sealing or expunging records. See Rhode Island expungement and record sealing rules.