R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-4-20: Custody of files and records.

The files and records of the supreme court shall be in the custody of the clerk of the supreme court. The files and records now in the offices of the clerks of the superior court in the counties of Providence, Newport, Washington, and Kent, which were transferred to the offices from the appellate division and the common pleas division of the supreme court in those counties, shall be and remain, respectively, in the custody of the clerks of the superior court in each of those counties. The files and records in the office of the clerk of the superior court in Providence, including all books, papers, and records of the office and all other public property, which were transferred from the office of the assistant clerk of the superior court in Bristol to the office in Providence, shall there remain in the custody of the clerk.