In Rhode Island, the Attorney General's office has two ways to formally bring a felony to Superior Court: grand jury indictment or criminal information with a judicial probable-cause finding. ADW cases go through both paths regularly. If the case is presented to a grand jury, twenty-three citizens hear the state's evidence in secret - the defendant and defense counsel are not in the room - and decide whether to return a true bill. If the state uses criminal information, a Superior Court justice reviews the charging documents and affidavits to determine probable cause. Either way, indictment is a low bar; it is not a trial. The real fight in most ADW cases happens in pretrial discovery, motions, and plea negotiations after the case is formally charged.
