Arkansas & U.S. Codes Related
to Domestic Violence12-12-503. Definitions. As used in this subchapter:
(1)
(A) "Abandonment" means:
(i) Failure of a parent to:
(a) Provide reasonable support and to maintain regular contact with a juvenile through statement or contact when the failure is accompanied by an intention on the part of the parent to permit the condition to continue for an indefinite period in the future;
(b) Support or maintain regular contact with a juvenile without just cause; and
(ii) An articulated intent to forego parental responsibility.
(B) "Abandonment" does not include acts or omissions of a parent toward a married minor.
(2)(A) "Abuse" means any of the following acts or omissions by a parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, person eighteen (18) years of age or older living in the home with a child whether related or unrelated to the child, or any person who is entrusted with the juvenile's care by a parent, guardian, custodian, or foster parent, including, but not limited to, an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, child care facility, public or private school, or any person legally responsible for the juvenile's welfare, but excluding the spouse of a minor:
(i) Extreme or repeated cruelty to a juvenile;
(ii) Engaging in conduct creating a realistic and serious threat of death, permanent or temporary disfigurement, or impairment of any bodily organ;
(iii) Injury to a juvenile's intellectual, emotional, or psychological development as evidenced by observable and substantial impairment of the juvenile's ability to function within the juvenile's normal range of performance and behavior;
(iv) Any injury that is at variance with the history given;
(v) Any nonaccidental physical injury;
(vi) Any of the following intentional or knowing acts, with physical injury and without justifiable cause:
(a) Throwing, kicking, burning, biting, or cutting a child;
(b) Striking a child with a closed fist;
(c) Shaking a child; or
(d) Striking a child on the face or head;
(vii) Any of the following intentional or knowing acts, with or without physical injury:
(a) Striking a child age six (6) or younger on the face or head;
(b) Shaking a child age three (3) or younger;
(c) Interfering with a child's breathing; or
(d) Pinching or striking a child in the genital area.
(B)(i) The list in subdivision (2)(A) of this section is illustrative of unreasonable action and is not intended to be exclusive.
(ii) No unreasonable action shall be construed to permit a finding of abuse without having established the elements of abuse.
(C)(i) "Abuse" shall not include physical discipline of a child when it is reasonable and moderate and is inflicted by a parent or guardian for purposes of restraining or correcting the child.
(ii) "Abuse" shall not include when a child suffers transient pain or minor temporary marks as the result of an appropriate restraint if:
(a) The person exercising the restraint is an employee of an agency licensed or exempted from licensure under the Child Welfare Agency Licensing Act, § 9-28-401 et seq.;
(b) The agency has policy and procedures regarding restraints;
(c) No other alternative exists to control the child except for a restraint;
(d) The child is in danger or hurting himself or herself or others;
(e) The person exercising the restraint has been trained in properly restraining children, de-escalation, and conflict resolution techniques; and
(f) The restraint is for a reasonable period of time.
(iii) Reasonable and moderate physical discipline inflicted by a parent or guardian shall not include any act that is likely to cause and which does cause injury more serious than transient pain or minor temporary marks.
(iv) The age, size, and condition of the child and the location of the injury and the frequency or recurrence of injuries shall be considered when determining whether the physical discipline is reasonable or moderate;
(3) "Caretaker" means a parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, or any person ten (10) years of age or older who is entrusted with a child's care by a parent, guardian, custodian, or foster parent, including, but not limited to, an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, child care facility, public or private school, or any person responsible for a child's welfare, but excluding the spouse of a minor;
(4)(A) "Central intake", otherwise referred to as the
"child abuse hotline", means a unit that shall be established by the Department of Human Services for the purpose of receiving and recording notification made pursuant to this subchapter.
(B) Central intake shall be staffed twenty-four (24) hours per day and shall have statewide accessibility through a toll-free telephone number;
(5) "Child" or "juvenile" means an individual who is from birth to the age of eighteen (18);
(6) "Child maltreatment" means abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, or abandonment;
(7) "Department" means the Department of Human Services;
(8) "Deviate sexual activity" means any act of sexual gratification involving:
(A) Penetration, however slight, of the anus or mouth of one person by the penis of another person; or
(B) Penetration, however slight, of the labia majora or anus of one person by any body member or foreign instrument manipulated by another person;
(9)(A)(i) "Forcible compulsion" means physical force, intimidation, or a threat, express or implied, of physical injury to or death, rape, sexual abuse, or kidnapping of any person.
(ii) If the act was committed against the will of the juvenile, then forcible compulsion has been used.
(B) The age, developmental stage, and stature of the victim and the relationship of the victim to the assailant, as well as the threat of deprivation of affection, rights, and privileges from the victim by the assailant, shall be considered in weighing the sufficiency of the evidence to prove compulsion;
(10) "Indecent exposure" means the exposure by a person of the person's sexual organs for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the person or of any other person under circumstances in which the person knows the conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm;
(11) "Near fatality" means an act that, as certified by a physician, places the child in serious or critical condition;
(12) "Neglect" means those acts or omissions of a parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, or any person who is entrusted with the juvenile's care by a parent, custodian, guardian, or foster parent, including, but not limited to, an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, child care facility, public or private school, or any person legally responsible under state law for the juvenile's welfare, but excluding the spouse of a minor and the parents of the married minor, which constitute:
(A) Failure or refusal to prevent the abuse of the juvenile when the person knows or has reasonable cause to know the juvenile is or has been abused;
(B) Failure or refusal to provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, and education required by law, excluding the failure to follow an individualized educational program, or medical treatment necessary for the juvenile's well-being, except when the failure or refusal is caused primarily by the financial inability of the person legally responsible and no services for relief have been offered or rejected;
(C) Failure to take reasonable action to protect the juvenile from abandonment, abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, neglect, or parental unfitness when the existence of the condition was known or should have been known;
(D) Failure or irremediable inability to provide for the essential and necessary physical, mental, or emotional needs of the juvenile;
(E) Failure to provide for the juvenile's care and maintenance, proper or necessary support, or medical, surgical, or other necessary care;
(F) Failure, although able, to assume responsibility for the care and custody of the juvenile or to participate in a plan to assume such responsibility; or
(G) Failure to appropriately supervise the juvenile that results in the juvenile's being left alone at an inappropriate age or in inappropriate circumstances that put the juvenile in danger;
(13) "Parent" means a biological mother, an adoptive parent, or a man to whom the biological mother was married at the time of conception or birth or who has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the biological father of the juvenile;
(14) "Pornography" means:
(A) Obscene or licentious material, including pictures, movies, and videos, lacking serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value, which, when taken as a whole and applying contemporary community standards, would appear to the average person to appeal to the prurient interest; or
(B) Material that depicts sexual conduct in a patently offensive manner lacking serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value;
(15) "Serious bodily injury" means bodily injury that involves substantial risk of death, extreme physical pain, protracted and obvious disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty;
(16) "Severe maltreatment" means sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, acts, or omissions which may or do result in death, abuse involving the use of a deadly weapon as defined by § 5-1-102(4), bone fracture, internal injuries, burns, immersions, suffocation, abandonment, medical diagnosis of failure to thrive, or causing a substantial and observable change in the behavior or demeanor of the child;
(17) "Sexual abuse" means:
(A) By a person ten (10) years of age or older to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age:
(i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion;
(ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion;
(iii) Indecent exposure; or
(iv) Forcing the watching of pornography or live sexual activity;
(B) By a person eighteen (18) years of age or older to a person not his or her spouse who is younger than sixteen (16) years of age:
(i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact or solicitation; or
(ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;
(C) By a sibling or caretaker to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age:
(i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact or solicitation; or
(ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;
(D) By a caretaker to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age:
(i) Forcing or encouraging the watching of pornography; or
(ii) Forcing, permitting, or encouraging the watching of live sexual activity; or
(E) By a person younger than ten (10) years of age to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age:
(i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion; or
(ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion;
(18)(A) "Sexual contact" means any act of sexual gratification involving the touching, directly or through clothing, of the sex organs, buttocks, or anus of a person or the breast of a female.
(B) Provided, nothing in this section shall permit normal affectionate hugging to be construed as sexual contact;
(19) "Sexual exploitation" means allowing, permitting, or encouraging participation or depiction of the juvenile in prostitution, obscene photographing or filming, or obscenely depicting a juvenile for any use or purpose;
(20) "Subject of the report" means:
(A) The offender;
(B) The custodial and noncustodial parents, guardians, and legal custodians of the child who is subject to suspected maltreatment; and
(C) The child who is the subject of suspected maltreatment; and
(21) "Underaged juvenile aggressor" means any child younger than ten (10) years of age for whom a report of sexual abuse has been determined to be true for sexual abuse to another child.
16-81-113. Warrantless arrest for domestic abuse.
(a)
(1) When a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe a person has committed acts which constitute a crime under the laws of this state and which constitute domestic abuse as defined in subdivision (b)(1) of this section against a family or household member, the officer may arrest the person without a warrant if the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe the person within the preceding four (4) hours, or within the preceding twelve (12) hours for cases involving physical injury as defined in §
5-1-102(14), has committed such acts even if the incident did not take place in the presence of the law enforcement officer.
(2) The arrest of the person shall be considered the preferred action by the law enforcement officer when evidence indicates that domestic abuse has occurred in addition to a violation of the Arkansas Criminal Code, § 5-1-101 et
seq.
(3) Any law enforcement officer acting in good faith and exercising due care in making an arrest for domestic abuse shall have immunity from civil liability.
[*Note – more info on warrantless arrests here.]
(b) As used in this section:
(1) "Domestic abuse" means:
(A) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault between family or household members; or
(B) Any sexual conduct between family or household members, whether minors or adults, which constitutes a crime under the laws of this state; and
(2) "Family or household
member" means spouses, former spouses, parents and children, persons related by blood within the fourth degree of consanguinity, any child residing in the household, persons who presently or in the past have resided or cohabited together, and persons who have or have had a child in common.
(c)
(1) Any person arrested under the provisions of this section shall be taken before a judicial officer without unnecessary delay.
(2) The judicial officer shall conduct a pretrial release inquiry of the person.
(d) The inquiry should take the form of an assessment of factors relevant to the release decision, such as:
(1) The person's employment status, history, and financial condition;
(2) The nature and extent of his or her family relationships;
(3) His or her past and present residence;
(4) His or her character and reputation;
(5) Persons who agree to assist him or her in attending court at the proper times;
(6) The nature of the charge and any mitigating or aggravating factors that may bear on the likelihood of conviction and the possible penalty;
(7) The person's prior criminal record, if any, and, if he or she previously has been released pending trial, whether he or she appears as required;
(8) Any facts indicating the possibility of violations of law if the person is released without restrictions; and
(9) Any other facts tending to indicate that the person has strong ties to the community and is not likely to flee the jurisdiction of the court.
(e) The judicial officer may impose one (1) or more of the following conditions of release:
(1) Place the person under the care of a qualified person or organization agreeing to supervise the person and assist him or her in appearing in court;
(2) Impose reasonable restrictions on the activities, movements, associations, and residences of the person;
(3) Impose any other reasonable restrictions to ensure the appearance of the person at future judicial hearings.
16-90-1107. Information from law enforcement agencies.
(a) After initial contact between a victim and a law enforcement agency responsible for investigating a crime, the agency shall promptly give in writing to the victim:
(1) An explanation of the victim's rights under this subchapter; and
(2) Information concerning the availability of:
(A) Assistance to victims, including medical, housing, counseling, financial, social, legal, and emergency services;
(B) Compensation for victims under the Arkansas Crime Victims Reparations Act, § 16-90-701 et
seq., and the name, street address, and telephone number of the agency to contact;
(C) Protection of the victim, including protective court orders; and
(D) Access by the victim and the defendant to public records related to the case.
(b) As soon as practicable, the law enforcement agency shall give to the victim, as relevant, the following:
(1) Information as to the suspect's identity, unless inconsistent with law enforcement purposes;
(2) Information as to whether the suspect has been taken into custody, has escaped, or has been released, and any conditions imposed on the release when such information has been made known to the law enforcement agency;
(3) The file number of the case and the name, office address, and office telephone number of a law enforcement officer assigned to investigate the case; and
(4) The prosecuting attorney's name, office address, and office telephone number.
28-9-212. Computing degrees of consanguinity.
(a)
(1) In computing the degrees of relationship between any two (2) kinsmen who are not related in a direct line of ascent or descent, it is proper to start with the common ancestor of the kinsmen and count downwards. In whatever degree the kinsmen or the more remote of them is distant from the common ancestor, that is the degree in which they are related to each other.
(2) Thus two (2) or more children of a common parent are related to each other in the first degree, because from the common parent to each of the children is counted only one (1) degree.
(3) But a person and his or her nephew are related in the second degree, for the nephew is two (2) degrees removed from his or her grandparent who is the common ancestor.
(4) A person and his or her second cousin are related in the third degree, for they are both three (3) degrees removed from the great-grandparent who is their common ancestor.
(b) In computing the degrees of relationship between any two (2) kinsmen related in a direct line of ascent or descent, the degree of relationship shall be determined by starting with one (1) of the persons and counting up or down to the other. Thus, a person and his or her:
(1) Parent or child are related in the first degree;
(2) Grandparent or grandchild are related in the second degree; and
(3) Great-grandparent or great-grandchild are related in the third degree.