Rule 79.Records Kept by the Clerk and Entries Therein.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified September 12, 2026
Full Text of Rule 79
Amendment History
Rhode Island does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own February 2024 printing; for the underlying adopting orders and any later amendments, see the Rhode Island Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Subdivision (a) builds the case record. The clerk keeps the docket, enters each action these rules cover, and assigns actions consecutive file numbers. From there, everything goes in chronologically: papers filed, process issued and the returns made on it, appearances, orders, verdicts and judgments, each marked with the case file number.
The entries stay short by design, but they cannot be empty. Each one must show the nature of the paper filed or the writ issued, and it must show the substance of each order or judgment and of the returns showing that process was executed. One line in the rule carries weight for anyone counting days: the entry of an order or judgment shows the date the entry is made, so the docket is where that date lives.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) cover the rest of the clerk's filing system. The clerk keeps indices of the docket and of every judgment, and the rule leaves their form to law and to the general orders of the court rather than fixing it here. Beyond those, the clerk keeps whatever other records the law requires or the judicial officers of the court order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the domestic relations docket in Rhode Island Family Court?
It is the clerk's running record of the case, required by subdivision (a). Each action gets entered in it with a consecutive file number, and every paper, order and judgment in that action is recorded there in the order it happened.
How do I find the date my judgment was entered?
Look at the docket entry. The rule requires that the entry of an order or judgment show the date the entry is made, so that date is part of the record the clerk keeps rather than something a party supplies.
Does the clerk keep anything besides the docket?
Yes. Subdivision (b) has the clerk keep indices of the docket and of every judgment, according to law and the general orders of the court. Subdivision (c) adds whatever other records the law requires or the judicial officers of the court order, so the docket is the center of the file rather than the whole of it.
How much detail does a docket entry contain?
Brief by direction, but not bare. The rule calls for short entries that still show the nature of each paper filed or writ issued and the substance of each order or judgment and of the returns showing execution of process.
What is the file number on my Family Court papers?
It is the number the clerk assigns to your action, drawn from a consecutive series under subdivision (a). Every docket entry in the case carries that number, which is how the clerk keeps one action's papers separate from another's.