Title 12 — Law Enforcement, Emergency Management, and Military Affairs

(a) This code applies to all persons while they are serving inside or outside the state. (b) Courts-martial may be convened and held in units of the organized militia while those units are serving outside the state with the same jurisdiction and powers as to persons subject to th…

(a) Jurisdiction of courts-martial shall be coextensive with the jurisdiction provided for similar courts of the United States Army and United States Air Force while accounting for the differences in the types of duty status of members of the organized militia. (b) (1) A person d…

A.C.A. § 12-64-103Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) (1) The Governor shall appoint an officer of the organized militia as State Judge Advocate subject to confirmation by the Senate.(2) To be eligible for appointment, an officer must be a member of the bar of the highest court of the state and must have been a member of the bar…

(a) The following persons of the organized militia may administer oaths for those purposes of military administration, including military justice, and affidavits may be taken for those purposes before those persons who shall have the general powers of a notary public:(1) The Stat…

A.C.A. § 12-64-106Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) (1) Sections 12-60-103, 12-64-102, 12-64-107, 12-64-109, 12-64-201 — 12-64-203, 12-64-205 — 12-64-207, 12-64-301, 12-64-302, 12-64-407, 12-64-410, 12-64-509, 12-64-601, and 12-64-801 — 12-64-848 of this code shall be carefully explained to every enlisted member at the time of…

A.C.A. § 12-64-108Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

Any member of the organized militia who believes himself or herself wronged by his or her commanding officer, and who, upon due application to that commanding officer, is refused redress, may complain to any superior commissioned officer, who shall forward the complaint to the Go…

(a) There shall be appropriated annually, for the Department of the Military, the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) for the State Judge Advocate to pay for the administration of military justice. (b) For the foregoing purposes, there is created in the State Treasury a fund…

(a) “Apprehension” is the taking of a person into custody. (b) Any person authorized by this code or by rules issued pursuant thereto to apprehend persons subject to this code, any marshal of a court-martial appointed pursuant to the provisions of this code, and any peace officer…

Any civil officer having authority to apprehend offenders upon the laws of the United States or of a state, territory, commonwealth, or possession, or the District of Columbia may summarily apprehend a deserter from the organized militia and deliver him or her into the custody of…

Subject to the orders or rules of the Adjutant General, commanders of the organized militia may restrain persons under their jurisdiction to the same extent as military commanders in service to the United States.

A.C.A. § 12-64-204Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) No provost marshal, commander of a guard, master at arms, warden, keeper, or officer of a city or county jail or any other jail, penitentiary, or prison designated under this code may refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his or her charge when the committing pe…

Pretrial restraint is not punishment and shall not be used as punishment.

(a) Under such rules as may be prescribed under this code, a person on active militia duty who is accused of an offense against civil authority may be delivered, upon request, to the civil authority for trial. (b) When delivery hereunder is made to any civil authority of a person…

(a) Under such rules as the Governor may prescribe, a company grade commanding officer may, in addition to or in lieu of admonition or reprimand, impose not more than two (2) of the following disciplinary punishments for minor offenses without the intervention of a court-martial:…

(a) A person punished under this subchapter who considers his or her punishment unjust or disproportionate to the offense may, through the proper channel, appeal to the next superior authority. (b) The appeal shall be promptly forwarded and decided, but the person punished may in…

The imposition and enforcement of disciplinary punishment under this subchapter for any act or omission is not a bar to trial by court-martial for a serious crime or offense growing out of the same act or omission and not properly punishable under this subchapter. However, the fa…

(1) There shall be three (3) kinds of courts-martial in each of the forces of the organized militia, namely:(1) General courts-martial, which shall consist of:(A) A military judge and:(i) Any number of members not less than eight (8); or(ii) Six (6) or seven (7) members if after …

(a) Each force of the organized militia has court-martial jurisdiction and powers over all persons subject to this code and shall follow the forms and procedures provided for similar courts of the United States Army and United States Air Force unless specifically enumerated in th…

(1) General courts-martial may, under such limitations as the Governor may prescribe, adjudge one (1) or more of the following punishments for each specification:(1) Confinement with hard labor that shall not exceed the lowest sentence limitations established in the Manual for Co…

(1) A special court-martial may, under such limitations as the Governor may prescribe, adjudge one (1) or more of the following punishments:(1) Confinement with hard labor that shall not exceed the lowest of the sentence limitations established in the Manual for Courts-Martial, U…

(a) Officers and warrant officers may not be tried by summary courts-martial. (b) No person with respect to whom summary courts-martial have jurisdiction may be brought to trial before a summary court-martial if he or she objects thereto. If objection to a trial by summary court-…

(a) General, special, and summary courts-martial may be convened by the Governor or the commanding general of the organized militia. (b) Special courts-martial may be convened by the commanding officer of a garrison, fort, post, camp, air base, auxiliary air base, or other place …

(a) Any commissioned officer of or on duty with the organized militia is eligible to serve on all courts-martial for the trial of any person who may lawfully be brought before such courts for trial. (b) Any warrant officer of or on duty with the organized militia is eligible to s…

A.C.A. § 12-64-408Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) A military judge shall be detailed to each general and special court-martial. (b) The military judge shall be a commissioned officer who is a member of the bar of the highest court of a state or a member of the bar of a federal court and who is certified to be qualified for t…

(a) For each general and special court-martial, the authority convening the court shall detail trial counsel and defense counsel. (b) (1) A person who has acted as investigating officer, military judge, or court member in any case shall not later act as trial counsel, assistant t…

(a) Under such rules as the Governor may prescribe, the convening authority of a general or special court-martial shall detail or employ qualified court reporters who shall record the proceedings of and testimony taken before that court. (b) Under like rules or regulations, the c…

(a) The military judge of a general and special court-martial and a summary court officer may each appoint by warrant, and at any time remove, one (1) or more marshals. (b) Each marshal shall perform the usual duties of a similarly appointed marshal and shall execute any process,…

No action or proceeding may be prosecuted against the convening authority or a member of a military court or officer or person acting under its authority or reviewing its proceedings because of the approval, imposition, or execution of any sentence or the imposition or collection…

(a) No member of a general or special court-martial shall be absent or excused after the accused has been arraigned except for physical disability or as a result of a challenge or by order of the convening authority for good cause. (b) (1) Whenever a general court-martial is redu…

(a) A person charged with desertion or absence without leave in time of war or with aiding the enemy or with mutiny may be tried and punished at any time without limitation. (b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person charged with an offense is not liable to be tri…

(a) Charges and specifications shall be signed by a person subject to this code under oath before a person authorized by this code to administer oaths and shall state:(1) That the signer has personal knowledge of, or has investigated the matters set forth therein; and(2) That the…

(a) No person subject to this code may compel any person to incriminate himself or herself or to answer any question, the answer to which may tend to incriminate him or her. (b) No person subject to this code may interrogate or request any statement from an accused or a person su…

(a) A preliminary hearing shall be held in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 832 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2019, before the referral of charges and specifications for trial by general court-martial. (b) (1) Under rules prescribed by the Governor, a preliminary hearing is not…

(a) Before directing the trial of any charge by general court-martial, the convening authority shall refer it to the State Judge Advocate for consideration and advice. (b) The convening authority shall not refer a charge to a general court-martial for trial unless he or she has f…

When a person is held for trial by general court-martial, the commanding officer shall, within eight (8) days after the accused is ordered into arrest or confinement, if practicable, forward the charges, together with the investigation and allied papers, to the Governor. If that …

(a) The trial counsel to whom court-martial charges are referred for trial shall cause to be served upon the accused, or the defense counsel, a copy of the charges upon which trial is to be held. (b) In time of peace, no person may, against his or her objection, be brought to tri…

The procedures used by general, special, and summary courts-martial shall be similar to those established by the United States Congress for similar courts of the United States Army and United States Air Force; however, the Governor has executive authority over the military courts…

(a) No authority convening a general, special, or summary court-martial nor any other commanding officer or officer serving on the staff thereof may censure, reprimand, or admonish the court or any member, military judge, or counsel thereof with respect to the findings or sentenc…

(a) The trial counsel of a general or special court-martial shall prosecute in the name of the state and shall, under the direction of the court, prepare the record of the proceedings. (b) The accused has the right to be represented in his or her defense before a general or speci…

(a) Whenever a general or special court-martial deliberates or votes, only the members of the court may be present. (b) After a general court-martial has finally voted on the findings, the court may request the military judge and the reporter to put the findings in proper form; a…

A court-martial may, for reasonable cause, grant a continuance to any party for such time and as often as may appear to be just.

(a) (1) Members of a general or special court-martial and the military judge of a general or special court-martial may be challenged by the accused or the trial counsel for cause stated to the court.(2) The court shall determine the relevancy and validity of challenges for cause …

(a) The military judge, interpreters, and, in general and special courts-martial, members, trial counsel, assistant trial counsel, defense counsel, assistant defense counsel, and reporters shall take an oath or affirmation in the presence of the accused to perform their duties fa…

If an accused arraigned before a court-martial makes an irregular pleading, or enters a plea of guilty improvidently or through lack of understanding of its meaning and effect, or if he or she fails or refuses to plead, a plea of not guilty shall be entered in the record and the …

(a) The trial counsel, the defense counsel, and the court-martial shall have equal opportunity to obtain witnesses and other evidence in accordance with such rules as the Governor may prescribe. (b) The military judge, the president of a court-martial, or a summary court officer …