(a) Civil Docket. The clerk shall keep the civil docket and shall enter therein each civil action to which these rules are made applicable. Actions shall be assigned consecutive file numbers. All papers filed with the clerk, all process issued and returns made thereon, all appearances, orders, verdicts, and judgments shall be entered chronologically in the civil docket assigned to the action and shall be marked with its file number. These entries shall be brief but shall show the nature of each paper filed or writ issued and the substance of each order or judgment of the court and of the returns showing execution of process. The entry of an order or judgment shall show the date the entry is made. When in an action trial by jury has been properly demanded or ordered, the clerk shall enter the demand or order in the docket.
Rule 79.Books and Records Kept by the Clerk and Entries Therein.
Current through February 2024 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 79 requires the clerk to keep a civil docket recording every filed paper, court order, and judgment in each case under a consecutive file number, plus indices of the docket and judgments and any other records the law requires.
Full Text of Rule 79
(b) Indices. Indices of the civil docket and of every civil judgment shall be kept by the clerk according to law and the general orders of the court.
(c) Other Records of the Clerk. The clerk shall also keep such records as may be required by law or by order of the judicial officers of the court.
X. SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS
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
Rule 79 makes the clerk responsible for keeping a civil docket covering every case these rules apply to. Each action gets a consecutive file number, and the clerk logs every paper filed, every process issued and its return, every appearance, and every order, verdict, or judgment in chronological order under that number. Entries can be brief, but they still have to show what was filed and the substance of each order or judgment, and the entry of an order or judgment has to show the date it was made.
When a jury trial has been properly demanded or ordered in a case, the clerk notes that demand or order right in the docket.
The clerk also keeps indices of the civil docket and of every civil judgment, following the law and the court's general orders, along with any other records that a statute or the court's judicial officers require.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the civil docket the clerk keeps?
A chronological record, kept under a consecutive file number for each case, of every paper filed, every process issued and returned, every appearance, and every order, verdict, or judgment, with each entry showing the nature of the filing and the substance of the order or judgment.
Does the docket show whether a jury trial was requested?
Yes. When trial by jury has been properly demanded or ordered in a case, Rule 79 requires the clerk to enter that demand or order in the docket.
Is there a way to look up a judgment by name or case?
Rule 79 requires the clerk to keep indices of the civil docket and of every civil judgment, in addition to the docket itself.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official Rhode Island Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure (R.I. Super. Ct. R. Civ. P. 79). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Rhode Island (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-6-2). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
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