Title 16 — Practice, Procedure, And Courts

(a) (1) Whenever a defendant has been held for trial and the defense of insanity is an issue in the matter, the defendant or some person for him or her shall file a motion or request for an order of examination in the office of the clerk of the circuit court.(2) The clerk shall i…

(a) Whenever a defendant shall be held for trial in circuit court and the defendant alleges that he or she has become insane after being legally charged, the defendant or some person for the defendant must notify the prosecutor and the court at the earliest practicable time. (b) …

A.C.A. § 16-86-109Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

When proper and timely request is made to the court for an order of examination and observation and there is not sufficient time to complete the examination and submit the report before scheduled proceedings in the case, the court may order examination and immediately continue th…

(a) The procedure provided in this chapter shall also be followed, insofar as it is applicable, in any case in which the insanity of the convicted defendant is alleged as a ground for postponing or not carrying out execution of any sentence imposed as part of the judgment of conv…

(a) A person committed to the state hospital in compliance with this chapter who escapes from the hospital shall be returned to the jurisdiction of the committing court upon his or her apprehension. (b) After the return of the person to the jurisdiction of the committing court, t…

The circuit judges in vacation may make any order pertaining to the commitment, examination, observation, or return from the Arkansas State Hospital, after examination, of any defendant that they might make during a regular term of court at which the defendant might be tried.

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…

(a) The jurisdiction of the various courts of this state for the trial of offenses shall be as follows:(1) The Senate shall have exclusive jurisdiction of impeachment;(2) The Supreme Court shall have general supervision and control over all inferior courts in criminal cases;(3) T…

The circuit court of any county or the judge thereof, exercising jurisdiction in vacation, may by writ of prohibition restrain all other inferior courts in the limits of the county from exceeding their criminal jurisdiction.

A.C.A. § 16-88-103Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

It shall be presumed upon trial that the offense charged was committed within the jurisdiction of the court, and the court may pronounce the proper judgment accordingly unless the evidence affirmatively shows otherwise.

(a) The jurisdiction of the Senate and Supreme Court embraces the whole state. (b) The local jurisdiction of circuit courts shall be of offenses committed within the respective counties in which they are held. (c) The local jurisdiction of district courts shall be of offenses com…

(a) The criminal jurisdiction of the State of Arkansas is extended as follows:Beginning at a point where the north boundary line of Arkansas intersects the west bank of the Mississippi River and extending east along a line in extension of and parallel to the said north boundary o…

(a) The criminal jurisdiction of the State of Arkansas is extended as follows:Beginning at a point where the north boundary line of Arkansas intersects the west meander line of the St. Francis River and running east on an extension of the north boundary line to the meander line o…

(a) When any offense may be committed on the boundary of two (2) counties or where the person committing the offense may be on one side and the injury is done on the other side of the boundary, the indictment may be found and the trial and conviction thereon had in either of the …

(a) Where the offense consists of importing any property into the state, the jurisdiction shall be in any county into which the offender imports the property. (b) Whenever two (2) or more counties have jurisdiction of the same offense by this section, the county in which the defe…

(a) Where the offense consists of kidnapping, seizing, or confining a person without lawful authority, the jurisdiction shall be in the county in which the kidnapping, seizing, or confining was committed, or in any county in which it was continued. (b) Whenever two (2) or more co…

When any offense may have been committed within this state on board any steamboat, flatboat, keelboat, or other vessel in the course of any voyage or trip, an indictment for the offense may be found and a trial and conviction on the offense had in any county through which or any …

If any wound or mortal injury is inflicted on any human being in this state, who shall die thereof in another state or country, whether the state or country is within the jurisdiction of the United States or not, an indictment may be found. A trial and conviction thereon may be h…

(a) When any person is liable to be prosecuted as the receiver of any personal property that may have been feloniously stolen, taken, or embezzled, he or she may be indicted, tried, and convicted in any county where he or she received or had the property, notwithstanding that the…

(a) An indictment against any accessory to any felony may be found in any county where the offense of the accessory may have been committed, notwithstanding the fact that the principal offense may have been committed in another county. (b) The like proceedings shall be had therei…

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as “Katie's Law”. (b) When any sexual offense, as defined by § 5-14-101 et seq., is committed against any person who at the time of the sexual offense was traveling within this state by private motor vehicle, common carrier, waterc…

All traffic citations issued within the boundaries of a town or city of this state which has a district court shall be placed on the docket of the district court of that town or city, unless the presiding judge of that court authorizes a transfer to another court exercising juris…

Any criminal cause pending in any circuit court may be removed by the order of the court, or by the judge thereof in vacation, to the circuit court of another county whenever it shall appear, in the manner provided in this subchapter, that the minds of the inhabitants of the coun…

When there are several defendants in any indictment or criminal prosecution and the cause of the removal of the defendants exists only as to one (1) or more of them, the other defendants shall be tried and all proceedings had against them in the county in which the case is pendin…

Only one (1) change of venue shall be granted in any criminal case or prosecution.

(a) (1) The application of the defendant for an order of removal shall be by petition setting forth the facts on account of which the removal is requested. The truth of the allegations in the petition shall be supported by the affidavits of two (2) credible persons who are qualif…

(a) When the order is made, the defendant, if not in custody and the offense charge is bailable, shall enter into recognizance with sufficient security for his or her appearance to answer the charges in the court to which the cause is to be removed, on the first day of the next t…

(a) If the defendant is in actual custody, the court or judge granting the order of removal shall also make an order commanding the sheriff to remove the body of the defendant to the jail of the county into which the cause is to be removed and deliver the defendant to the keeper …