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| Arkansas Court Records- Listed below is contact information and/or links to websites containing resources to help in a search for Arkansas court records. | |||
| Arkansas Court Records | |||
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The state of Arkansas has a diverse and ever-developing court system, serving a constituency that varies widely from extremely rural communities to cities such as Little Rock, Fayetteville and Fort Smith. Until the 21st century, Arkansas had remained one of the few states with separate courts for law (circuit court) and equity (chancery court) in the United States, but the 80th Amendment to the state constitution, passed in November 2000, spurred a change in the system that merged the circuit and chancery courts into larger circuit courts, and the municipal courts of Arkansas will have countywide jurisdiction and be renamed District Court. Arkansas Supreme Court: When Arkansas became the nation’s 25th state in 1836, its constitution provided for a three-member Supreme Court. That number of justices was maintained in the Constitution of 1874, but expanded to five when the 1874 constitution was amended 50 years later, in 1924, with provisions for increasing to seven individuals. Just a year later, due to that growth provision in Amendment 9, the Arkansas General Assembly did expand the Arkansas Supreme Court to seven justices through Act 205 of 1925. The current seven justices are led by Chief Justice Jim Hannah. Justices are elected by the state’s voters and serve eight-year terms. The jurisdiction of the Arkansas Supreme Court is statutory, written into the state’s constitution. The court generally has only appellate jurisdiction, allowing it to hear cases appealed from the trial courts. It also is charged with a supervisory role over the lesser courts in Arkansas, and makes all the rules regulating the practice of law and the professional conduct of attorneys in the state. The Supreme Court maintains an online docket search, schedule of oral arguments, and archive of its opinions. Arkansas Court of Appeals Like many intermediate state courts of appeal, the Arkansas Court of Appeals was created to relieve the state Supreme Court from a burgeoning docket. Amendment 58 to the Arkansas Constitution permitted the lower appellate court in 1978; it was established the following year and issued its first opinions for publication on Aug. 8, 1979. Again influenced by growing amounts of litigation, the Court of Appeals was doubled in size from six judges to a dozen judges via legislation adopted in 1993. The chief judge is John M. Pittman. Pursuant to Act 1812 of 2003, the state was divided into seven districts for the election of judges. There is no right of appeal from the Court of Appeals to the Arkansas Supreme Court. While the Arkansas Court of Appeals issues numerous signed opinions each week, only those opinions considered to “resolve novel or unusual questions” are actually published, and thus available to use as legal precedent in subsequent, unrelated cases. A party in a case may request a review by the high court, but whether it is fielded by the Supreme Court is up to that court’s discretion. The Court of Appeals’ docket search and oral arguments calendar are available online, as are the court’s opinions. Arkansas Circuit Court Pursuant to Constitutional Amendment 80, which took effect July 1, 2001, separate courts of law and courts of equity were eliminated in Arkansas. As of Jan. 1, 2002, the new Circuit Court consists of five divisions based on subject matter: criminal; civil; probate; domestic relations; and juvenile. Judicial candidates for circuit judge now run for office in nonpartisan elections, serving six-year terms if they are victorious. Judges can be located by county on a clickable judicial map at the state judicial system’s Web site. Arkansas District Court Formerly known as Municipal Court, prior to the passage of Amendment 80, the new District Court venues exercise countywide jurisdiction over misdemeanor cases, preliminary business on felony cases, and civil matters where less than $5,000 is contested. A small claims division of the court provides a forum in which citizens represent themselves to resolve minor civil matters. In smaller communities where district courts do not exist, City Court handles these sorts of business, exercising only citywide jurisdiction. A list of District Court judges can be located online. A few District Court divisions and venues maintain their own Web sites. These include: Fort Smith in Sebastian County; North Little Rock in Pulaski County; the Pulaski County courts; McGehee in Desha County; and Little Rock Traffic Court. Arkansas Drug Court Following the lead of Dade County, Fla., which began operating such courts in 1988, Arkansas, like other states, has begun instituting Drug Court venues to deal with primarily nonviolent criminals who are charged with drug crimes. The first such court was located in the 6th Judicial District (Pulaski County), and now there are 37 drug courts statewide. Drug courts are considered a “non-adversarial” judicial process whereby offenders and alleged offenders with substance abuse problems are diverted into supervised treatment and counseling, with by regular court appearances for status checks, rather than tried and punished for their crimes. For more information about Arkansas drug courts, contact Carol L. Roddy, state drug court coordinator, at the Adminstrative Office of the Courts, (800) 950-8221. |
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Court Websites Arkansas Judiciary Online Resources - Opinions of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals - Docket Search United States District Court - Western Arkansas United States Bankruptcy Court - Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas United States District Court - Eastern District Arkansas City Courts - General Information on Arkansas' city courts Arkansas Supreme Court - Biographies of the Justices Administrative Office of the Courts - Information on appellate courts and Court Forms. Arkansas District Courts - Information on the district courts as well as court forms. Arkansas Judiciary - Circuit Court Information and Links to Circuit Court Websites. |
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| AR County Courthouses - Addresses and Phone Numbers | |||
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