Year: 2025

When an officer says "I smell marijuana," Arkansas law generally allows a search of the car. The real questions are whether that claim holds up, how far the search went, and whether it reached a person or a home. "Plain smell" is shorthand for the idea that an officer...

In Arkansas, a pipe, a scale, or baggies can be charged as a crime even when no drugs are found. Drug paraphernalia charges under § 5-64-443 run from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class B felony. The grade turns on two questions: what the item was for, and which drug it...

Theft by deception isn't a separate crime in Arkansas. It's one of the ways to commit theft of property under § 5-36-103: knowingly obtaining someone else's money or property by deception, with the purpose of depriving them of it. The cases that reach a courtroom...

Aggravated robbery is a Class Y felony in Arkansas, with an ordinary adult sentencing range of 10 to 40 years or life in prison. For someone who was 18 or older when the offense occurred, aggravated robbery committed on or after January 1, 2024, is parole-ineligible....

When Arkansas Police Can Make a DWI Arrest A DWI stop can change your entire life — especially in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, Bryant, Benton, or anywhere in Pulaski County. But officers can only arrest you for DWI if they meet specific legal...

A lawful traffic stop does not give an Arkansas officer automatic permission to search your vehicle. The stop, any extended detention, the search, and an arrest each need legal justification. Probable cause matters at several of those stages, but it is not the only...

In many criminal cases, the most important question isn’t whether the police found something — it’s whether they found it legally. A motion to suppress asks the judge to throw out evidence that was obtained through an illegal stop, search, or seizure. When a motion to...

In Arkansas, unlawful possession of a qualifying amount of drugs can support a trafficking charge even without a sale. Trafficking substances other than fentanyl under § 5-64-440 is a Class Y felony carrying 10 to 40 years or life. Fentanyl trafficking has a separate...

Yes. Arkansas police can arrest you for domestic battery even if you called 911, but they still need probable cause. Your call can help establish what happened; it doesn't give you immunity or prove that any force you used was lawful self-defense. If you called for...

Few situations cause more anxiety than an officer saying, "We just want to talk." Whether you have to answer, and whether asking for a lawyer actually stops the questioning, depends on one thing more than any other: whether you're in custody. Here's how it works in...