Inmate at Adult Correctional Institute (“ACI”) had filed lengthy complaint against the prison administration. He would later file a second complaint, which was 58 pages long. Attorneys for the ACI complained to the Superior Court that the claims were barred by res judicata and that plaintiff should not be permitted to continue to use the limited judicial resources, in essence complaining that Plaintiff was abusing the court system. The Superior Court agreed with the attorneys and issued an order barring the plaintiff from filing any action in the Superior Court. The Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned the Superior Court ruling that:
‘In the case at bar, the order limiting plaintiff’s access to the court is overly broad; it is tantamount to a lifetime ban on the Superior Court’s acceptance of any pro se filing by plaintiff—excepting those related to the instant appeals—and fails to exclude criminal cases or those matters in which plaintiff may appear as a defendant. Critically, the order fails to recite any findings of fact, nor does it appear that plaintiff was afforded notice or an adequate opportunity to be heard before it was entered. Furthermore, we are not convinced that the record in this case reflects a degree of “abuse [that] is so continuous and widespread as to suggest no reasonable alternative.”‘ See complete opinion at: Laurence v. R.I. Department of Corrections, et al.