Title 16, Practice, Procedure, And Courts

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Completion of a person's sentence” means that the person, after being found guilty:(A) Paid his or her fine, court costs, or other monetary obligation as defined in § 16-13-701 in full, unless the obligation has been excused by the sentencing c…

(a) A person is eligible to file a uniform petition under this subchapter to seal his or her record of a misdemeanor or violation immediately after:(1) The completion of his or her sentence for the misdemeanor or violation, including full payment of restitution;(2) Full payment o…

(a) Unless prohibited under § 16-90-1408 and regardless of when the felony occurred, a person may petition a court to seal a record of a conviction immediately after the completion of the person's sentence for:(1) A nonviolent Class C felony or nonviolent Class D felony;(2) (A) E…

(1) A person may petition the court to seal a record of a felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance, § 5-64-419, or counterfeit substance, § 5-64-441, upon the completion of the person's sentence if, prior to sentencing:(1) An intake officer appointed by the cour…

(a) A record of a conviction of any of the following offenses is not eligible to be sealed under this subchapter:(1) A Class Y felony, Class A felony, or Class B felony, except as provided in § 16-90-1406;(2) Manslaughter, § 5-10-104;(3) An unclassified felony if the maximum sent…

(a) A person may petition a district court or circuit court to seal a record of a prior arrest if charges have not been filed by the prosecuting attorney within one (1) year of the date of the arrest. (b) The petition shall be filed in the county in which the arrest was made.

(a) A person may petition to seal the records of a case in which there was for any reason:(1) Entry of an order nolle prosequi upon motion of the prosecuting attorney after one (1) year has passed since the date of the entry of the order nolle prosequi;(2) Entry of an order of di…

(a) (1) The Governor shall notify the court upon issuing a pardon, and the court shall issue an order sealing the record of a conviction of the person pardoned.(2) The record of a conviction relating to the conviction of a person pardoned before July 15, 1991, shall be sealed upo…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Minor” means a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age; and(2) “Victim of human trafficking” means a person who has been subjected to trafficking of persons, § 5-18-103, or any former law of this state, law of another state, or federal law …

(a) (1) A person who is eligible to have a record sealed under this subchapter may file a uniform petition in the circuit court or district court in the county where the offense was committed and in which the person was convicted for the offense he or she is now petitioning to ha…

(a) (1) The Arkansas Crime Information Center shall adopt and provide the following to be used by a petitioner and any circuit court or district court in this state:(A) A uniform petition to seal records; and(B) A uniform order to seal records.(2) An order to seal records covered…

(a) For a uniform petition filed under § 16-90-1405, unless the circuit court or district court is presented with and finds that there is clear and convincing evidence that a misdemeanor or violation conviction should not be sealed under this subchapter, the circuit court or dist…

(a) The custodian of a sealed record shall not disclose the existence of the sealed record or release the sealed record except when requested by:(1) The person whose record was sealed or the person's attorney when authorized in writing by the person;(2) A criminal justice agency,…

(a) (1) A person whose record has been sealed under this subchapter shall have all privileges and rights restored, and the record that has been sealed shall not affect any of his or her civil rights or liberties unless otherwise specifically provided by law.(2) A person who wants…

The Arkansas Crime Information Center shall develop and draft the form to be used for the uniform petition and uniform order under this subchapter.

The circuit clerk or district court clerk shall not collect a fee for filing the uniform petition under this subchapter.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Arkansas law requires offenders to pay legal financial obligations to the state, cities, and counties imposed by various courts and law enforcement agencies;(2) Missed payments for fines and fees may lead to charges in court for failure to …

(a) A person who is incarcerated in the Department of Corrections may request of the department and shall be provided by the department a complete compilation of all outstanding arrest warrants, criminal summons, and pending misdemeanor cases for that person. (b) The department s…

(a) As used in this section, “assistance” means the Department of Corrections shall make available means of communication between a person, the prosecuting attorney, the court, local law enforcement agencies, and the person's attorney, if applicable, to help facilitate the entry …

(a) Subject to the rules of the judiciary and the local rules of the court, a person who has opted to resolve pending misdemeanor matters under this subchapter may still be permitted to enter remotely a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any outstanding or pending misdemeanor c…

(a) A negotiated plea entered into between the state and a person may be imposed using the procedures under § 5-4-403. (b) (1) The court is also encouraged to refrain from fining a person and instead sentence the person to a period of incarceration only.(2) This subchapter does n…

(1) As used in this subchapter, “specialty court program” means:(1) A pre-adjudication probation program under § 5-4-901 et seq.;(2) A drug court program under the Arkansas Drug Court Act, § 16-98-301 et seq.;(3) A Swift and Certain Accountability on Probation Pilot Program under…

(a) Upon a participant's successful completion of a specialty court program, a specialty court program judge may order dismissal of a case and sealing of a record if:(1) The specialty court program judge has received a recommendation from the prosecuting attorney for dismissal of…

(a) (1) A specialty court program judge may authorize a participant to complete a specialty court program in another county with the consent of the receiving judge.(2) A written order reflecting the authorization shall be signed by both judges.(3) The participant's case in the or…

(1) Any person convicted of an offense which is punishable by imprisonment in the Division of Correction who shall subsequently be convicted for another offense shall be punished as follows:(1) If the second offense is such that, upon a first conviction, the offender could be pun…

(a) When any person shall be convicted of murder, rape, carnal abuse, or kidnapping and it shall be shown that the person has been twice previously convicted of any of the above-mentioned crimes in this state or any other state, upon the third conviction the person shall be deeme…

The duly certified copy of the record of a former conviction and judgment of any court of record for imprisonment in the penitentiary against the person indicated or the certificate of the warden or other chief officer of any penitentiary of this state or any other state in the U…

(1) The following trial procedure shall be adhered to in cases involving habitual criminals:(1) The jury shall first hear all of the evidence pertaining to the current charge against the defendant and shall retire to reach its verdict as to this charge based only upon the evidenc…

The General Assembly recognizes that many innocent persons suffer injury, death, property damage, and resultant financial hardship because of crimes committed in this state and that there is a genuine need in this state to establish a method whereby the responsible offender, as f…

The provisions of this subchapter are amendatory and supplemental to Acts 1977, No. 482, as amended.

(a) The circuit judges of each judicial district may establish a restitution fund to be administered by the circuit judge, the prosecuting attorney, or probationary agency, whichever the circuit judge shall designate. (b) The circuit judges shall provide rules and regulations for…

(a) (1) Any person referred to as the defendant in this section who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to any crime who contracts to benefit economically regarding the crime shall pay to the circuit court in which the charges for the crime were filed any m…

(a) When any defendant is found guilty or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to theft or any other offense affecting property held by or belonging to the state or any political subdivision thereof, the court shall require the payment of restitution for the benefit of the state or t…

(a) When any defendant is found guilty of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to theft or any other offense affecting property held by or belonging to the state or any political subdivision thereof, the circuit court shall order a lien upon any and all property, refunds, or any o…

(a) When any defendant is found guilty of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to theft or any other offense affecting property held by or belonging to the State of Arkansas or any political subdivision of the state, and Arkansas Legislative Audit has incurred costs in the investi…

(a) A person convicted of any violation of the Human Trafficking Act of 2013, § 5-18-101 et seq., shall be ordered to pay mandatory restitution to the victim or other entity, as appropriate, including without limitation:(1) Costs of medical and psychological treatment, including …

Where a judgment of confinement, either in the Division of Correction or county jail, is pronounced, a certified copy of the judgment must be furnished forthwith to the county sheriff, who shall thereupon execute it, and no other warrant or authority is necessary to its execution…

(a) (1) In executing a judgment of confinement, the county sheriff shall deliver the defendant with a certified standardized copy of the sentencing order to the Division of Correction, Division of Community Correction, or to another detention facility, as indicated in the sentenc…

In conveying the defendant to the Division of Correction, the county sheriff shall have all the powers of preventing an escape, of resisting an effort to rescue the defendant, of recapturing the defendant, and of summoning persons to his or her aid that the county sheriff would h…

The county sheriff shall make a written return of the execution of the judgment of imprisonment and file the return with the clerk of the court within ten (10) days after the execution of judgment.

(a) It shall be the duty of the justice of the peace or the clerk of the court rendering a judgment or sentence of conviction in misdemeanor cases when the defendant is committed to the county jail to file a copy of the judgment or sentence in the office of the clerk of the count…

(a) The defendant shall not be held in confinement under an execution for a fine for a longer period than at the rate of one (1) day for each two dollars ($2.00) of the fine. However, the confinement shall not discharge the fine, which thereafter can only be collected by proceedi…

(1) A person committed to prison for any criminal offense who is in the custody of an officer shall not be removed from the prison or delivered to the custody of any other officer, except in the following cases:(1) By writ of habeas corpus or some other legal writ or under the gu…

(a) A certified copy of the judgment delivered to the county sheriff shall authorize and require him or her to execute a judgment for the abatement or removal of a nuisance or for anything other than the payment of money by the defendant. (b) The county sheriff shall make a retur…

(a) The clerk of the court in which is pronounced the sentence of death against any convict shall deliver a certified copy thereof to the Director of the Department of Correction as soon as may be after the sentence. (b) When a judgment of death is pronounced upon any person upon…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Adult” means a person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older;(2) “Close relative of the victim” means any of the following persons in relation to the victim for whose death a person is sentenced to death:(A) The spouse of the victim at the tim…