R.I. Dist. Ct. R. Crim. P. 26.1

(a) Production of Statements.

After a witness called by the State has testified on direct examination, the court shall,

on motion of the defendant, order the attorney for the State to produce any statement

(as defined in subdivision (e)) of the witness in the possession of the attorney for the

State, or under his or her control, which relates to the subject matter as to which the

witness has testified. If the entire contents of a statement relate to the subject matter

of the testimony of the witness, the court shall order it to be delivered directly to the

defendant for the defendant's examination and use. When a statement is delivered to

a defendant pursuant to this rule, the court in its discretion, upon application of the

defendant, may recess proceedings in the trial for such time as it may determine to

be reasonably required for the examination of the statement by the defendant and the

defendant's preparation for its use in the trial.

(b) Unrelated Matter. If the attorney for the State claims that any statement

ordered to be produced under this rule contains matter which does not relate to the

subject matter of the testimony of the witness, the court shall order the attorney for

the State to deliver the statement for inspection by the court in camera. Upon

inspection the court shall excise the portions of the statement which do not relate to

the subject matter of the testimony of the witness. The court shall then order delivery

of the excised statement to the defendant for his or her use. If any portion of a

statement is withheld from the defendant and the defendant objects to such

withholding, and the trial is continued to an adjudication of the guilt of the defendant,

the entire text of the statement shall be preserved by the attorney for the State and,

in the event the defendant appeals to the Superior Court for a trial de novo, the

Superior Court shall not be bound by a prior determination of the District Court to

excise portions of the statement.

(c) Use of Statements. A statement may be used at the trial only to impeach the

credibility of a witness by demonstrating a material variance between the testimony

of the witness and the witness' prior statement.

(d) Production of Criminal Records. After a witness called by the State has

testified on direct examination, the court shall, on motion of the defendant, order the

attorney for the State to provide the defendant with a written statement of all criminal

convictions of the witness that are known to the attorney for the State or are

contained in the files of the Attorney General's Division of Criminal Identification.

(e) Statement Defined. The term “statement,” as used in subdivisions (a), (b) and

(c) of this rule, means

(1) a written statement made by a prosecution witness and signed or otherwise

adopted or approved by him or her; or

(2) a stenographic, mechanical, electrical, or other recording, or a transcription

thereof, which is a substantially verbatim recital of an oral statement made by a

prosecution witness to an agent of the State and recorded contemporaneously with

the making of such oral statement.