Title 16 — Practice, Procedure, And Courts

This chapter may be cited as the “Public Defender Act”.

(1) For the purpose of this subchapter:(1) “Commission” means the Arkansas Public Defender Commission created by this subchapter;(2) “Executive director” means the person appointed by the commission pursuant to this subchapter;(3) “Indigent person” means a person who, at the time…

(a) There is hereby created the Arkansas Public Defender Commission. (b) (1) The commission shall be composed of seven (7) members appointed by the Governor for five-year terms.(2) At least four (4) members of the commission shall be attorneys who are licensed to practice law in …

(a) The Arkansas Public Defender Commission shall have the following powers and duties:(1) To establish policies and standards for the public defender system throughout the state, including standards for determining who qualifies as an indigent person;(2) To establish policies an…

(a) (1) The commission shall appoint an executive director who shall be licensed to practice law in the State of Arkansas, licensed to practice law for at least four (4) years prior to the effective date of the appointment, and experienced in the practice of criminal law, includi…

(a) There is hereby created the Capital, Conflicts, and Appellate Office to represent indigent defendants when the death penalty is sought and the trial public defender's office is unable to represent the defendant for the reasons set forth in subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this sectio…

(a) On an interim basis in complex cases or at the conclusion of each case, the appointed attorney shall submit his or her bill to the appointing court, which shall issue an order authorizing compensation. (b) (1) An application for compensation shall be submitted to the Arkansas…

(a) (1) The Arkansas Public Defender Commission is authorized to pay for certain expenses regarding the defense of indigents.(2) (A) The expenses shall include, but shall not necessarily be limited to, fees for counsel appointed by the court, expert witnesses, temporary investiga…

(a) (1) (A) Any person charged with an offense punishable by imprisonment who desires to be represented by an appointed attorney shall file with the court in which the person is charged a written certificate of indigency.(B) The certificate of indigency shall be in a form approve…

(a) A trial public defender or a deputy trial public defender shall not:(1) Receive any funds, services, or other thing of monetary value, directly or indirectly, for the representation of an indigent person pursuant to court appointment, except the compensation authorized by law…

(1) There is hereby created the Trial Public Defender Office within the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, to be composed as follows:(1) The Trial Public Defender Office shall supervise the development and operations of each of the components of the Arkansas trial public defend…

A.C.A. § 16-87-216Current 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 State of Arkansas and the county may file a civil action for recovery of money expended in the representation of a person who is determined by a court not to have been indigent at the time expenditures were made.(2) Suit shall be brought within three (3) years after t…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Early disposition” means a disposition that occurs within sixty (60) days of the date of the person's arrest or before the state files a criminal information, whichever occurs sooner; and(2) “Extended matter” means a case that involves legal proce…

(a) It is the intent of the General Assembly in the transition to a state-funded public defender system to provide an appropriate and adequate level of legal representation to indigent persons in all areas of the state. It is recognized by the General Assembly that in many areas …

(a) The Arkansas Public Defender Commission shall be responsible for the payment of the following:(1) The salaries of public defenders;(2) The salaries of secretaries and other support staff of the public defender's office; and(3) The payment of the costs of certain expenses, as …

(a) Each person selected as a public defender shall be:(1) Licensed to practice law in the State of Arkansas; and(2) Experienced in the defense of criminal cases. (1) Licensed to practice law in the State of Arkansas; and (2) Experienced in the defense of criminal cases. (b) (1) …

(a) There shall be created within the Arkansas Public Defender Commission a number of positions, including chief public defenders, public defenders, investigators, and secretaries. (b) (1) The commission shall allocate positions to each county or judicial district based on an app…

(a) The entry level salaries of public defenders and public defender staff positions shall be consistent with that established by the state pay plan for the appropriate grade of each position. (b) The public defenders and public defender staff positions shall be subject to the Un…

(1) The public defender in each judicial district shall have the following duties:(1) (A) To defend indigents within the district as determined by the circuit, municipal, or juvenile courts in the district in all:(i) Felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, guardianship, and mental health …

(a) If a court determines that a conflict of interest exists between an indigent person and a public defender, the case shall be reassigned as follows:(1) If there is within the county or judicial district another public defender, the appointment of whom would not create a confli…