Title 16 — Practice, Procedure, And Courts

(a) Judgment shall not be rendered against a defendant in case of felony, except in his or her presence. If the defendant is in custody, he or she shall be brought into court by the proper officer, and if not in custody, a bench warrant similar to the bench warrant on indictments…

(a) When a jury finds a verdict of guilty and fails to agree on the punishment to be inflicted, or does not declare the punishment in its verdict, or if it assesses a punishment not authorized by law, and in all cases of a judgment on confession, the court shall assess and declar…

(a) Whenever any person shall be convicted of a misdemeanor and the punishment for the offense is a fine, the judgment shall direct that the defendant be imprisoned until the fine and costs are paid. (b) (1) The person so convicted shall be incarcerated for a period not to exceed…

(a) If the defendant is convicted of two (2) or more offenses, the punishment of each of which is confinement, the judgment shall be so rendered that the punishment in one (1) case shall commence after the termination of it in the others. (b) When any person is convicted of more …

Where judgment of death is pronounced, the day of the execution shall be fixed in the judgment. The day of execution shall not be in less than thirty (30) days after the judgment.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Crime” means an act or omission committed by a person, whether or not competent or an adult, which is punishable by incarceration if committed by a competent adult;(2) “Human trafficking offense” means an offense under the Human Trafficking Act…

Failure to comply with this subchapter does not create a claim for damages against a government employee, official, or entity.

(a) The victim or a representative of the victim may be present whenever the defendant has a right to be present during a court proceeding concerning the crime charged, other than a grand jury proceeding, unless the court determines that exclusion of the victim or the victim's re…

(a) A court may not compel a victim or a member of the victim's family testifying in a criminal justice proceeding to disclose a residential address or place of employment on the record in open court unless the court finds that disclosure of the information is necessary. (b) A la…

(1) An employer may not discharge or discipline a victim or a representative of the victim for:(1) Participation at the prosecuting attorney's request in preparation for a criminal justice proceeding; or(2) Attendance at a criminal justice proceeding if the attendance is reasonab…

(a) Any person holding property of a victim shall take reasonable care of the property. (b) The responsible official shall promptly return the property to the victim when it is no longer needed for evidentiary purposes, unless it is contraband or subject to forfeiture.

(a) (1) After initial contact between a victim or a victim's family and a law enforcement agency responsible for investigating a crime, the law enforcement agency shall promptly give the victim and, if applicable, the victim's family, a preprinted document to be known as “Laura's…

(1) If the defendant appeals or pursues a post-conviction remedy, the Attorney General, as to cases handled by the Attorney General, shall promptly inform the victim of:(1) That fact;(2) The date, time, and place of any hearing; and(3) The decision. (1) That fact; (2) The date, t…

(a) (1) Upon request of the victim, the Division of Correction, the Arkansas State Hospital, a local or regional hospital, local or regional mental health facility, or any other facility to which the defendant is committed by the court shall:(A) Promptly inform the victim, throug…

(a) Any circuit court, upon receipt of petition by the aggrieved party for relief and after the notice of the relief has been served on the prosecuting attorney, may correct an illegal sentence at any time and may correct a sentence imposed in an illegal manner within the time pr…

(a) (1) Unless otherwise provided by this subchapter, information required to be furnished to the victim or other person authorized to receive notice may be furnished either orally or in writing.(2) It is the responsibility of the victim or other person authorized to receive noti…

In preparing a presentence report, the person preparing the report shall make a reasonable effort to confer with the victim. If the victim is not available or declines to confer, the person preparing the report shall record that information in the report.

(a) (1) Before imposing sentence, the court shall permit the victim to present a victim impact statement concerning the effects of the crime on the victim, the circumstances surrounding the crime, and the manner in which the crime was perpetrated.(2) The victim may present the st…

(a) (1) (A) Before determining whether to release the inmate on parole, the Post-Prison Transfer Board shall permit the victim to present a written victim impact statement at a victim impact hearing concerning the effects of the crime on the victim, the circumstances surrounding …

(a) If a victim is a minor or is incapacitated, incompetent, or deceased, a member of the victim's family may exercise the rights of the victim under this subchapter. (b) If more than one (1) member of the victim's family attempts to exercise those rights, the court may designate…

None of the provisions of this subchapter or §§ 16-21-106 and 16-93-702(b) shall be deemed to relieve any person of the duty of providing information or notices required by any other law.

(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas In-Life Photograph Act”. (b) (1) In a homicide case, the state has a right to have a photograph depicting the deceased person as he or she appeared in life before the crime occurred admitted and displayed at trial …

(a) Where judges of the probate division of circuit court, justices of the peace, county sheriffs, county coroners, county surveyors, jailers, county assessors, prosecuting attorneys, constables, city or police judges, clerks, and marshals shall be convicted upon an indictment fo…

(a) In judgments against the defendant, a judgment for costs shall be rendered in addition to the other punishment. This judgment shall be taxed by the clerk and shall be for the benefit of the officers rendering the service. (b) In case of failure by the defendant to pay the cos…

(a) In any case where the pronouncement of final judgment and sentence shall have been postponed, all costs shall be considered due and payable just as if the sentence and judgment had been pronounced. (b) It is the intention of this section that the postponement, so far as liabi…

(a) All courts of record, district courts, and city courts in this state shall have the authority to suspend the imposition of sentences or the imposition of fines, or both, in all criminal cases pending before the courts unless specifically prohibited by law. (b) (1) At any time…

(a) Whenever any person is convicted of a misdemeanor by any court or justice of the peace and gives security for the fine and costs adjudged against him or her, the county sheriff or other officer taking the security shall forthwith file the bond or note so taken with the clerk …

(a) The court before which any person may be convicted of any criminal offense not punishable by death shall have power, in addition to the sentence prescribed or authorized by law, to require the person to give security to keep the peace or be of good behavior, or both, for any …

(a) Whenever any person is sentenced to the Division of Correction, it shall be the duty of the court before which he or she has been convicted to cause to be made and transmitted to the agent of the division a short report of the circumstances attending the offense, particularly…

(a) When any person is convicted of any homicide, burglary, robbery, assault with intent to kill, assault with a deadly weapon, battery, or any other felony involving a deadly weapon, the court in which the person is convicted may confiscate the deadly weapons involved in the off…

(a) Any person convicted of any offense that is classified by the laws of this state as a felony who employed any firearm of any character as a means of committing or escaping from the felony, in the discretion of the sentencing court, may be subjected to an additional period of …

A.C.A. § 16-90-1201Current 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 person who is found guilty of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to a second or subsequent felony involving the use of a firearm shall be sentenced to a minimum term of imprisonment of ten (10) years in the Division of Correction without eligibility of parole or community co…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, any circuit judge may authorize the temporary release of an offender in the county sheriff's custody who has:(1) Been found guilty of or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to a nonviolent felony offense in circuit court; an…

A.C.A. § 16-90-123Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

This subchapter shall apply to all applicable felony sentences entered on or after July 27, 2011.

(a) The following felony offenses shall be eligible for earned discharge and completion of the sentence under this subchapter:(1) All Class D felonies, Class C felonies, and Class B felonies, except:(A) An offense for which sex offender registration is required under the Sex Offe…

(a) If a person is incarcerated for an eligible felony, whether by an immediate commitment or after his or her probation is revoked, and after he or she is moved to community supervision through parole or transfer by the Post-Prison Transfer Board, or if he or she is placed on pr…

(a) When a person has accumulated enough days, through a combination of served and earned time equal to the total number of days of the sentence imposed by the sentencing court, he or she shall be eligible for consideration of discharge of his or her sentence under this subchapte…

(a) Notice of the discharge of the person's sentence under this section shall be sent to the clerk of the sentencing court. (b) The clerk of the sentencing court shall send notice to the Arkansas Crime Information Center. (c) A person who earns discharge and completion of his or …

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013”.

(a) The General Assembly recognizes that historically the laws of this state involving the procedure a person must follow to have his or her prior criminal history information sealed have been confusing, from the standpoint of both practicality and terminology. (b) It is the inte…

(a) This subchapter governs all proceedings involving the sealing of criminal records. (b) Inconsistencies between this subchapter and any other sections within the Arkansas Code in existence January 1, 2014, are resolved in favor of this subchapter, except that this subchapter d…

(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…