The Rhode Island Superior Court is the state trial court

Trial court

A trial court or court of first instance is a court in which trials take place. Such courts are said to have original jurisdiction.- In the United States :...

 of general jurisdiction

General jurisdiction

A court of general jurisdiction is one that has the authority to hear cases of all kinds - criminal, civil, family, probate, and so forth.-Courts of general jurisdiction in the United States:All federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. Many U.S...

 in Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

.

Jurisdiction

It has original jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction

The original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision.-France:...

 in all felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

 proceedings, civil

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

 matters with an amount in controversy

Amount in controversy

Amount in controversy is a term used in United States civil procedure to denote the amount at stake in a lawsuit, in particular in connection with a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the...

 in excess of $10,000, and all matters of equity. The Super Court exercises concurrent jurisdiction

Concurrent jurisdiction

Concurrent jurisdiction exists where two or more courts from different systems simultaneously have jurisdiction over a specific case. This situation leads to forum shopping, as parties will try to have their civil or criminal case heard in the court that they perceive will be most favorable to...

 in civil matters with an amount in controversy between $5,000 and $10,000 with the lower District Court (an court of limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction, or special jurisdiction, is the courts' jurisdiction only on certain types of cases such as bankruptcy, family matters, etc....

), and also has concurrent jurisdiction with the Rhode Island Supreme Court

Rhode Island Supreme Court

The Rhode Island Supreme Court, founded in 1747, is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. The Court consists of a chief justice and four associate justices. The current Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court are:*Chief Justice Paul A...

 (the state supreme court

State supreme court

In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....

) in the issuance of writ

Writ

In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court...

s of habeas corpus

Habeas corpus

is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...

 and mandamus

Mandamus

A writ of mandamus or mandamus , or sometimes mandate, is the name of one of the prerogative writs in the common law, and is "issued by a superior court to compel a lower court or a government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly".Mandamus is a judicial remedy which...

.

The Superior Court is the trial

Trial

A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...

 court

Court

A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

 of record

Court of record

In common law jurisdictions, a court of record is a judicial tribunal having attributes and exercising functions independently of the person of the magistrate designated generally to hold it, and proceeding according to the course of common law, its acts and proceedings being enrolled for a...

 in Rhode Island and is the only Rhode Island court for hearing jury trial

Jury trial

A jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact which are then applied by a judge...

s. The lower District Courts hear trials of misdemeanor

Misdemeanor

A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...

 cases, and the decisions of the District Court may be appealed to the Superior Court for a trial de novo

Trial de novo

In law, the expression trial de novo means a "new trial" by a different tribunal...

 (new trial).

Since Rhode Island has no intermediate appellate court

Appellate court

An appellate court, commonly called an appeals court or court of appeals or appeal court , is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal...

, appeals from the Superior Court go directly to the Supreme Court.

Organization

The chief administrative judge of the court is the Presiding Justice of the Superior Court. He or she establishes calendars, assigns judges, appoints the Superior Court administrator, jury commissioner, and other staff, and makes rules for court business. The Presiding Justice manages the Central Registry, Arbitration Office, and Clerk's

Court clerk

A court clerk is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining the records of a court. Another duty is to administer oaths to witnesses, jurors, and grand jurors...

 Office. There are 21 Associate Justices and five Magistrates of the Superior Court.

Rhode Island's five counties each have separate jurisdictions of Superior Court: One in Kent County

Kent County, Rhode Island

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 167,090 people, 67,320 households, and 44,969 families residing in the county. The population density was 982 people per square mile . There were 70,365 housing units at an average density of 414 per square mile...

 (at the Leighton Judicial Complex in Warwick

Warwick, Rhode Island

Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...

), one in Washington County

Washington County, Rhode Island

Washington County, commonly known colloquially as South County, is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Washington County borders Kent County to the north, New London County in Connecticut to the west, Suffolk County in New York to the southwest, the Atlantic...

 (at the McGrath Judicial Complex at Wakefield

Wakefield, Rhode Island

Wakefield is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, and the commercial center of the town. Together with the village of Peace Dale, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census designated place identified as Wakefield-Peacedale, Rhode Island. South Kingston was...

), one in Newport County

Newport County, Rhode Island

-National protected areas:* Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge* Touro Synagogue National Historic Site-History:Newport County was constituted on June 22, 1703, as one of the two original counties of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. As originally established, Newport...

 (at the Murray Judicial Complex in Newport

Newport, Rhode Island

Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...

), and a combined jurisdiction for Providence

Providence County, Rhode Island

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 621,602 people, 239,936 households, and 152,839 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,504 people per square mile . There were 253,214 housing units at an average density of 613 per square mile...

 and Bristol

Bristol County, Rhode Island

The border with Bristol County, Massachusetts is rather unusual since the counties both share the same name. The only other instances in which two neighboring counties with the same name share a state border are Sabine County, Texas and Sabine Parish, Louisiana, Union Parish, Louisiana and Union...

 counties (at the Licht Judicial Complex, formerly known as the Providence County Courthouse, in the state capital of Providence

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

(which the Superior Court shares with the Supreme Court and Rhode Island Law Library).