Rhode Island Contempt of Court and Body Attachment for Unpaid Judgments

Contempt Is About Compliance, Not Punishment

You served a citation in supplementary proceedings. The debtor was supposed to appear at the Rhode Island District Court, sit down under oath, and answer questions about their bank accounts, wages, and property. They never showed up. Now what?

Rhode Island law gives you a specific remedy for this situation: a Motion to Adjudge in Contempt. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-28-4, a judgment debtor who is personally served with a supplementary citation and fails to appear is subject to witness failure proceedings. The court treats the no-show as defiance of a judicial order, not as a failure to pay the underlying debt.

This distinction matters. Civil contempt in Rhode Island is never punishment for owing money. It is a mechanism to compel a person to obey a court directive — in this case, the order to appear and disclose their finances.

Filing the Motion to Adjudge in Contempt

The process starts with a written motion filed in the same District Court division that issued the original judgment. Your motion should state that the debtor was served with the citation as required, identify the hearing date and time the debtor missed, and ask the court to find them in contempt.

You will need to attach proof of service showing the citation was delivered to the debtor or left at the debtor’s last and usual place of abode with a person of suitable age and discretion who lives there, at least six days before the appearance date. Service by mail alone is not a method specified by District Court Civil Rule 69; a deputy sheriff or DBR-licensed constable should handle service.

After you file the motion, the court schedules a contempt hearing and issues a new notice directing the debtor to appear and show cause for their absence. The debtor gets another chance to comply.

What Happens at the Contempt Hearing

If the debtor shows up this time, the court typically proceeds with the financial examination that should have happened at the original supplementary citation hearing. In many cases the motion achieves its goal simply by getting the debtor in front of a judge.

If the debtor fails to appear at the contempt hearing after receiving proper notice, the court may issue a body attachment. A body attachment is a civil arrest warrant directing a deputy sheriff or licensed constable to take the debtor into physical custody and bring them before the court.

Body attachments in Rhode Island are civil instruments used to compel compliance with a court order or subpoena, not to punish nonpayment of the underlying debt. The attachment directs an officer to bring the debtor before the court; the court decides what happens after the debtor appears.

Practical Considerations

Contempt and body attachment proceedings are serious tools, but they come with costs. You will pay the $70 officer service fee to serve the contempt notice under R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-29-9(a)(2), plus the time spent filing the motion and attending hearings. For a small claims judgment under $5,000, weigh these costs against the likelihood that the debtor actually has collectible assets.

Body attachments also depend on law enforcement availability. A deputy sheriff executing the warrant needs to locate the debtor at a known address, and some debtors actively evade service.

If the debtor has a legitimate reason for missing the hearing — a medical emergency, genuine lack of notice — the court may excuse the absence rather than issue a body attachment. The judge evaluates the circumstances at the contempt hearing.

When Contempt Makes Sense

Contempt proceedings are most effective when you have solid evidence the debtor is deliberately dodging the court process. A debtor who was personally served at their home address, acknowledged the citation, and still did not appear is a strong candidate for a contempt motion.

They are less effective against a debtor who is genuinely judgment-proof — someone with no wages, no bank accounts above the $500 exemption threshold, and no real property equity above the $500,000 homestead exemption. In that situation, even a successful contempt finding and body attachment will not produce money that does not exist.

For a complete walkthrough of every Rhode Island enforcement tool — from supplementary citations through contempt proceedings and beyond — the Rhode Island Small Claims Judgment Collection Guide maps each step to the specific District Court forms and officer hand-offs you need.

See more Rhode Island guides →