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5-1-111. Burden of proof — Defenses and affirmative defenses — Presumption.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-1-111. Burden of proof — Defenses and affirmative defenses — Presumption.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, no person may be convicted of an offense unless the following are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) Each element of the offense;
(2) Jurisdiction;
(3) Venue; and
(4) The commission of the offense within the time period specified in § 5-1-109.
(b) The state is not required to prove jurisdiction or venue unless evidence is admitted that affirmatively shows that the court lacks jurisdiction or venue.
(c)(1) The issue of the existence of a defense does not need to be submitted to the jury unless evidence is admitted supporting the defense.
(2) If the issue of the existence of a defense is submitted to the jury, the court shall charge that any reasonable doubt on the issue requires that the defendant be acquitted.
(3) A “defense” is any matter:
(A) Designated a defense by a section of the Arkansas Criminal Code;
(B) Designated a defense by a statute not a part of the Arkansas Criminal Code; or
(C) Involving an excuse or justification peculiarly within the knowledge of the defendant on which he or she can fairly be required to introduce supporting evidence.
(d)(1) The defendant shall prove an affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
(2) An “affirmative defense” is any matter designated an affirmative defense by a:
(A) Section of the Arkansas Criminal Code; or
(B) Statute not a part of the Arkansas Criminal Code.
(e) When the Arkansas Criminal Code or a statute not a part of the Arkansas Criminal Code provides that proof of a particular fact gives rise to a presumption as to the existence of a fact that is an element of the offense, the provision has the following consequences:
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-1-111
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
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Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:5-1-111
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.05.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: a8e8b6bb81ffcd919469b197e9cb9b92a445ab0710df1afcd3be3b0d8b297920
Source location: content.xml paragraph 706
Stored source content
5-1-111. Burden of proof — Defenses and affirmative defenses — Presumption.
(a) Except as provided in subsections (b), (c), and (d) of this section, no person may be convicted of an offense unless the following are proved beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) Each element of the offense;
(2) Jurisdiction;
(3) Venue; and
(4) The commission of the offense within the time period specified in § 5-1-109.
(b) The state is not required to prove jurisdiction or venue unless evidence is admitted that affirmatively shows that the court lacks jurisdiction or venue.
(c)(1) The issue of the existence of a defense does not need to be submitted to the jury unless evidence is admitted supporting the defense.
(2) If the issue of the existence of a defense is submitted to the jury, the court shall charge that any reasonable doubt on the issue requires that the defendant be acquitted.
(3) A “defense” is any matter:
(A) Designated a defense by a section of the Arkansas Criminal Code;
(B) Designated a defense by a statute not a part of the Arkansas Criminal Code; or
(C) Involving an excuse or justification peculiarly within the knowledge of the defendant on which he or she can fairly be required to introduce supporting evidence.
(d)(1) The defendant shall prove an affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence.
(2) An “affirmative defense” is any matter designated an affirmative defense by a:
(A) Section of the Arkansas Criminal Code; or
(B) Statute not a part of the Arkansas Criminal Code.
(e) When the Arkansas Criminal Code or a statute not a part of the Arkansas Criminal Code provides that proof of a particular fact gives rise to a presumption as to the existence of a fact that is an element of the offense, the provision has the following consequences:
(1) If there is evidence of the fact giving rise to the presumption, the issue as to the existence of the presumed fact shall be submitted to the jury unless the court determines that the evidence as a whole precludes a finding beyond a reasonable doubt of the presumed fact; and
(2)(A) If the issue as to the existence of the presumed fact is submitted to the jury, the court shall charge that evidence of the fact giving rise to the presumption is for the jury's consideration under all the circumstances of the case and to be weighed in determining the issue.
(B) However, the evidence of the fact giving rise to the presumption alone does not impose a duty of finding the presumed fact, even if the evidence is unrebutted.
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Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-1-109. Statute of limitations.
(a)(1) A prosecution for the following offenses may be commenced at any time:
(A) Capital murder, § 5-10-101;
(B) Murder in the first degree, § 5-10-102;
(C) Murder in the second degree, § 5-10-103;
(D) Rape, § 5-14-103, if the victim was a minor at the time of the offense;
(E) Sexual indecency with a child, § 5-14-110;
(F) Sexual assault in the first degree, § 5-14-124;
(G) Sexual assault in the second degree, § 5-14-125, if the victim was a minor at the time of the offense;
(H) Incest, § 5-26-202, if the victim was a minor at the time of the offense;
(I) Engaging children in sexually explicit conduct for use in visual or print medium, § 5-27-303;
(J) Transportation of minors for prohibited sexual conduct, § 5-27-305;
(K) Employing or consenting to the use of a child in a sexual performance, § 5-27-402;
(L) Producing, directing, or promoting a sexual performance by a child, § 5-27-403; and
(M) Computer exploitation of a child in the first degree, § 5-27-605.
(2) A prosecution may be commenced for a violation of the following offenses, if, when the alleged violation occurred, the offense was committed against a minor, the violation has not been previously reported to a law enforcement agency or prosecuting attorney, and the victim has not reached the age of twenty-eight (28) years of age:
(A) Sexual assault in the third degree, § 5-14-126;
(B) Sexual assault in the fourth degree, § 5-14-127;
(C) Endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree, § 5-27-205;
(D) Permitting abuse of a minor, § 5-27-221; and
(E) Computer child pornography, § 5-27-603.
(3) A prosecution for arson, § 5-38-301(a)(1)(G), may be commenced within ten (10) years after the offense was committed.
(b) Except as otherwi
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-1-109
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 5-1-109. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.