Title 16, Practice, Procedure, And Courts

(a) The state's responsibility for training and providing additional judicial education to circuit judges, district judges, circuit clerks, district court clerks, case coordinators, court reporters, and all other personnel directly associated with the state's courts shall be admi…

The Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and all circuit and county courts shall be courts of record and shall keep just and faithful records of their proceedings.

The sittings of every court shall be public, and every person may freely attend the sittings of every court.

All courts shall have power to issue all writs and process which may be necessary in the exercise of their respective jurisdiction, according to the principles and usages of law.

All writs, process, proceedings, and records in any court shall be in the English language, except that the proper and known name of process and technical words may be expressed in the language commonly used. They shall be made out on paper or parchment, in a fair and legible cha…

(a) Every court of record shall have power to punish, as for criminal contempt, persons guilty of the following acts and no others:(1) Disorderly, contemptuous, or insolent behavior committed during the court's sitting, in its immediate view and presence, and directly tending to …

(a) The Supreme Court and each of the circuit, district, city, and county courts shall preserve and keep a seal, with such emblems and devices as the court shall think proper. (b) The impression of the seal of any court by stamp shall be sufficient sealing in all cases where seal…

(a) The State of Arkansas requires that court proceedings be conducted in the English language under § 16-10-107. (b) Recognizing that a person with limited English proficiency cannot fully participate in the legal process and exercise the rights afforded to him or her, a court s…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Interpret” means to convey spoken English in a manner understood by a person who has limited English proficiency by using American Sign Language and transliteration, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) services or similar procedure…

(a) A person with limited English proficiency who is a party to or a witness in a court proceeding is entitled to a qualified interpreter to interpret for the person throughout the court proceeding. (b) (1) The Supreme Court shall administer an interpreter program to appoint and …

(a) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall compile, maintain, and disseminate a certified registry of qualified interpreters for the courts. (b) When an interpreter is requested or when the court determines that a party to or a witness in a court proceeding has limited Eng…

Before commencing his or her duties, an interpreter appointed under this subchapter shall take an oath in substantially the following form: “Do you [swear] [affirm] that you will make a true and impartial interpretation using your best skills and judgment in accordance with the s…

(a) A court that appoints an interpreter shall dismiss the interpreter and obtain the services of a qualified interpreter under procedures adopted by the Supreme Court:(1) If the interpreter fails to follow the standards prescribed by law or by the Arkansas Code of Professional R…

An interpreter appointed under this subchapter shall not be compelled to testify in a court proceeding as to any statements made by the person with limited English proficiency and interpreted by the interpreter when the person with limited English proficiency is engaged in a priv…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the payment of the cost of providing an interpreter appointed under this subchapter shall be the responsibility of the local government responsible for funding the court that has jurisdiction over the court proceeding. (b)…

No writ, process, plea, or proceeding whatsoever, civil or criminal, shall be deemed discontinued or abated by the failure of any term or session of any court, nor by the failure to enter a continuance of any suit or cause on the record. The suit or cause shall be continued and p…

When any change is made by law in the times of holding any court in this state, the change shall in no way operate to affect or impair, avoid, annul, or discontinue any suit, action, appeal, recognizance, bail bond, notice, or process, original, mesne, or final, taken, instituted…

(a) No court shall be opened or transact business on Sunday unless it is for the purpose of receiving a verdict or discharging a jury. (b) Every adjournment of a court on Saturday shall always be to some other day than Sunday, except such adjournment as may be made after a cause …

(a) On stipulation of the litigant parties, any court of this state, except in criminal causes, may order a cause to be tried by a temporary judge who is licensed in Arkansas to practice law. The temporary judge shall be sworn and empowered to act until final determination of the…

A judge assigned pursuant to § 16-10-101 on a temporary basis to a judicial district other than his or her own may share by concurrence with the judge of any division of the circuit court within that district the division's set of commissioners, jury wheel or box, list of jurors,…

(a) Whenever the holder of a judicial office in the State of Arkansas becomes a candidate at any primary or general election for a nonjudicial office, he or she shall immediately resign his or her judicial office and thereafter shall be ineligible to hold that judicial office for…

(a) From the appropriation provided to the Auditor of State for trial judges' expenses, a circuit court judge or a district court judge is authorized to be reimbursed for travel expenses at the rate authorized for state employees and for mileage at the rate established in the sta…

The sheriffs of the several counties shall be sheriffs of the several courts in their respective counties, and the sheriff in the county in which the Supreme Court is held shall be sheriff of that court.

Each court may enforce by attachment the return of any writ or process issued out of the same court and the payment of moneys had and received by any sheriff, coroner, constable, attorney, or collector in his or her official capacity, and the delivery of papers entrusted to him o…

(a) No judge or his or her court reporter of any court of this state shall be subject to a fine or other penalty for the offense of overtime parking incurred while the person was on duty as a judge or court reporter. (b) Any person attempting to enforce any fine or other penalty …

The records of all judgments rendered in any circuit, county, district, or city court shall contain the addresses of all parties when reasonably ascertainable.

(a) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall employ the most cost-efficient method of procuring auxiliary aids for persons with hearing and visual impairments. (b) These methods may include entering into a contractual arrangement with another state agency or with a private e…

(1) Restrictions on extrajudicial activities found in Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, shall not preclude a justice or judge from:(1) Being a member of a reserve unit of any branch of the United States Armed Forces;(2) Being a member of the National Guard;(3) Teaching;(4) Ser…

(a) On July 31 of each year, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall submit an annual report to the Legislative Council showing the number of persons charged in circuit court for each criminal offense classification, comparing the state and each judicial district. (b) The r…

(a) As used in this section, “specialty court program” means one (1) of the following:(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 Probati…

(a) As used in this section:(1) “Family or household member” means the same as defined in § 5-26-302; and(2) “Sex offense” means the same as defined in § 12-12-903. (1) “Family or household member” means the same as defined in § 5-26-302; and (2) “Sex offense” means the same as d…

(a) As used in this section, “specialty court program” means the same as defined in § 16-10-139. (b) A district court judge presiding over a specialty court program that has been approved by the Supreme Court may order the offender to pay:(1) Court costs as provided in § 16-10-30…

(a) (1) The Administrative Office of the Courts is responsible for requesting and verifying the need for any additional appropriation, any position-level change, any increase in the State Administration of Justice Fund allocation amount as authorized in the operative appropriatio…

(a) The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts may employ or enter into a professional service contract with an attorney to serve as a specialty court team member and to represent specialty court participants. (b) The fees for contracted services provided by an attor…

(a) The Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts may enter into a professional service contract with a qualified treatment provider to serve as a specialty court team member or to provide behavioral health treatment to specialty court participants. (b) The fees for con…

This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Arkansas District Courts Accounting Law”.

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Citation” means a written order or electronic ticket issued by a law enforcement officer or employee of the department of public safety of a city or incorporated town who is authorized to make an arrest, requiring a person accused of violating …

This subchapter shall apply to any district court within the State of Arkansas.

(a) (1) Each municipal police department and each city or town marshal shall maintain court funds separately in depositories approved for those specific purposes by law.(2) Court funds must be deposited into an account styled “(Name of Municipality) Police Department Bond and Fin…

(a) Each municipal police department, city or town marshal, and county sheriff's office shall maintain and issue uniform written citations or electronic citations for violation of all municipal and state laws. (b) (1) All uniform written citation books must be prenumbered by the …

(a) All violations shall be docketed and all judgments shall be rendered by the court's presiding judge. (b) The court docket shall reflect the complete history of the violation and the disposition of each case, and shall contain the following information:(1) The citation number;…

(1) Preparation and Submission of Arrest Report. The following activities and clerical duties relating to court functions shall be required of all police departments, city or town marshals, and sheriffs' offices:(1) Preparation and Submission of Arrest Report. (A) Separate arrest…

The court clerk or court administrator shall not be a member of the police department, marshal's office, or sheriff's office.

(1) Collection, Receipt, and Deposit Procedures. The following activities and clerical duties relating to court functions shall be required of all court clerks:(1) Collection, Receipt, and Deposit Procedures. (A) A prenumbered receipt must be issued for all moneys collected.(B) P…

(a) Any official charged with the maintenance of accounting or bookkeeping records under the provisions of this subchapter whose system of bookkeeping is such that it does not strictly adhere to the provisions of this subchapter, but in that official's opinion equals or exceeds t…

(a) All towns, cities, and counties of the State of Arkansas shall maintain records for the district courts and are to:(1) Permanently maintain:(A) Case indices for all district courts;(B) Case dockets for all district courts;(C) Active warrants;(D) Waivers;(E) Expungement and se…