1
Seat at major policy meetings
The Advocate receives timely access to major policy and litigation-policy discussions and the materials needed to evaluate them.
A visual shorthand for the idea: majority rule still benefits from an organized, independent voice for dissent.
The problem
One elected office can speak with enormous legal power.
The Rhode Island Attorney General is elected statewide and exercises substantial authority over criminal prosecutions, state litigation, investigations and major questions of public law. Elections properly decide who leads that office. But electoral victory does not make the constitutional concerns of everyone who voted the other way disappear.
The proposal does not create a second Attorney General and does not give the minority a veto. It creates a disciplined way for a materially different constitutional, factual or policy analysis to be heard, preserved and—when necessary—put before a court.
How it works
Eight practical functions
The pilot is designed to operate before, during and after major decisions—not merely criticize them after the fact.
2
Minority Reports become part of the record
When the Advocate materially disagrees, a written Minority Report accompanies the final decision and becomes part of the permanent official record. It may not be edited or suppressed by the Attorney General.
3
Independent complaint channel
People who believe they were treated unfairly or improperly by the Attorney General's Office have somewhere outside the ordinary chain of command to bring the complaint.
4
Prosecutorial-integrity review
The office can investigate credible allegations involving withheld evidence, discovery failures, Brady/Giglio-type issues, false or misleading evidence, retaliation, abuse of process, conflicts or comparable misconduct.
5
Reports to the court
When an investigation concerns a pending or completed case, retained counsel may seek permission to place factual findings and relevant evidence before the court through lawful procedures. The judge retains all adjudicative power.
6
Amicus and intervention role
Where a substantial nonfrivolous competing constitutional position exists, retained counsel may seek amicus participation or intervention where applicable rules permit it.
7
Systemic oversight
Patterns across complaints and investigations can be identified, anonymized when appropriate, and addressed through recommendations and public annual reporting.
8
Taxpayer Savings Ledger
Every claimed fiscal benefit is tracked separately as documented savings, recoveries or estimated avoided costs so the pilot can be judged by results instead of rhetoric.
Guardrails
What the Advocate cannot do
- Cannot initiate or dismiss a criminal prosecution.
- Cannot enter a nolle prosequi or direct charging decisions.
- Cannot supervise Assistant or Special Assistant Attorneys General or direct police or grand-jury operations.
- Cannot bind the State to a settlement or claim to speak for the State.
- Cannot veto the Attorney General's lawful decision.
- Cannot override a judge. Courts retain judicial power and decide what remedy, if any, is warranted.
- Is not required to oppose the Attorney General merely for the sake of opposition; there must be a material, nonfrivolous basis for a different position.
Pilot funding
Small enough to test. Large enough to work.
The proposed first-stage pilot budget is approximately $950,000 per year, funded from existing Attorney General general-revenue resources legally available for reallocation rather than by diverting restricted or federal funds.
$950K
about 1.9% of the FY2027 Attorney General noncapital appropriation.
FY2027 total AG appropriation: $53,371,935. Less the $2.675 million capital item: $50,696,935. $950,000 ÷ $50,696,935 ≈ 1.87%.
| Annual pilot item | Planning amount |
|---|---|
| Five FTE personnel — planning assumption using AG average loaded FTE cost | $740,890 |
| Independent retained counsel | $125,000 |
| Specialized investigators / forensic or technical experts | $35,000 |
| Secure case systems, records, travel, public reporting and ordinary operating costs | $49,110 |
| Total | $950,000 |
Organization
Five-person core office
The qualifications for the Minority Constitutional Advocate would be the same as the qualifications for Attorney General. Attorneys, investigators and technical experts can be retained when a particular matter requires them.
Minority Constitutional Advocate
Deputy Advocate /
Director of Policy
Director of Policy
Senior
Investigator
Investigator
Public Complaints &
Records Manager
Records Manager
Research &
Fiscal Analyst
Fiscal Analyst
Retained counsel • forensic / technical experts • additional investigators as needed
The financial test
Make the pilot prove its value.
The $950,000 figure is not presented as guaranteed savings. It is the annual performance target. The office would maintain a Taxpayer Savings Ledger distinguishing realized savings and recoveries from estimated avoided costs.
$950Kannual operating target
$2.85Mthree-year baseline cost
$0new statewide appropriation if funded entirely by internal reallocation
Examples of countable fiscal benefits would include documented reductions in outside legal expenses, settlements or judgments demonstrably reduced, unnecessary litigation ended earlier, recoveries obtained, and other identifiable state expenditures avoided. Estimated savings would be reported separately from realized cash savings.
Implementation
Start with a voluntary pilot. Test it in public.
The proposal contemplates an incoming Attorney General establishing a voluntary internal pilot within existing administrative and budget authority to the extent legally permissible. The office could be given strong operational independence by written policy while the Attorney General remains the constitutional head of the department.
If the pilot proves useful, Rhode Island could then consider legislation, court-rule changes, or constitutional action as appropriate to make the office durable, guarantee its independence, and define any additional powers.
The simple principle
Participation before the decision.
Dissent on the record.
Independent review afterward.
Access to the courts when the law permits.
The lighter explanation
Rhody Reporter: back to civics class
The same proposal, explained with a little Rhode Island humor.
Read more
Download the proposal
Use the one-page summary for quick sharing and the policy paper for the full structure, functions, safeguards, budget and organizational model.
Selected background sources
Rhode Island Constitution, Article IX §12: the duties and powers of the Attorney General remain as established or as prescribed by law.
Rhode Island Constitution — Article IX
FY2027 enacted appropriation: the Attorney General's total appropriation is $53,371,935, including $2,675,000 in capital funding.
FY2027 Rhode Island enacted appropriations
Prosecutorial disclosure duty: Rhode Island Rule of Professional Conduct 3.8(d) addresses timely disclosure of evidence or information tending to negate guilt or mitigate the offense.
Rhode Island Supreme Court Rules — Article V
Political theory: John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, on the danger of social and political majority power.
Project Gutenberg — On Liberty
This page describes a policy proposal, not an existing Rhode Island office or state program.