State v. Badessa

OPINION

“A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanged, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in color and content according to the circumstances and the time in which it is used.” — Mr. Justice Holmes 1

Who is a “first offender” for the purposes of the expungement statutes as codified at G.L.1956 §§ 12-1.3-1 to 12-1.3-3? Does the term “first offender” as defined in § 12-1.3-1(3) mean an individual with one and only one conviction, or does it apply to an individual attempting to expunge a first conviction, despite the presence of subsequent convictions on his record? The…