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5-2-203. Culpable mental states — Interpretation of statutes.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-2-203. Culpable mental states — Interpretation of statutes.
(a) If a statute defining an offense prescribes a culpable mental state and does not clearly indicate that the culpable mental state applies to less than all of the elements of the offense, the prescribed culpable mental state applies to each element of the offense.
(b) Except as provided in §§ 5-2-204(b) and (c), if the statute defining an offense does not prescribe a culpable mental state, a culpable mental state is nonetheless required and is established only if a person acts purposely, knowingly, or recklessly.
(c)(1) When a statute defining an offense provides that acting negligently suffices to establish an element of that offense, the element also is established if a person acts purposely, knowingly, or recklessly.
(2) When acting recklessly suffices to establish an element, the element also is established if a person acts purposely or knowingly.
(3) When acting knowingly suffices to establish an element, the element also is established if a person acts purposely.
(d) Knowledge that conduct constitutes an offense or knowledge of the existence, meaning, or application of the statute defining an offense is not an element of an offense unless the statute clearly so provides.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-2-203
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:5-2-203
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.05.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: 1964db95712f017ec2062099a9ebd9baa477ee14bbd9e6cceffbb34f4e06cc7e
Source location: content.xml paragraph 1199
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5-2-203. Culpable mental states — Interpretation of statutes.
(a) If a statute defining an offense prescribes a culpable mental state and does not clearly indicate that the culpable mental state applies to less than all of the elements of the offense, the prescribed culpable mental state applies to each element of the offense.
(b) Except as provided in §§ 5-2-204(b) and (c), if the statute defining an offense does not prescribe a culpable mental state, a culpable mental state is nonetheless required and is established only if a person acts purposely, knowingly, or recklessly.
(c)(1) When a statute defining an offense provides that acting negligently suffices to establish an element of that offense, the element also is established if a person acts purposely, knowingly, or recklessly.
(2) When acting recklessly suffices to establish an element, the element also is established if a person acts purposely or knowingly.
(3) When acting knowingly suffices to establish an element, the element also is established if a person acts purposely.
(d) Knowledge that conduct constitutes an offense or knowledge of the existence, meaning, or application of the statute defining an offense is not an element of an offense unless the statute clearly so provides.
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Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-2-204. Elements of culpability — Exceptions to culpable mental state requirement.
(a) A person does not commit an offense unless his or her liability is based on conduct that includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform an act that he or she is physically capable of performing.
(b) A person does not commit an offense unless he or she acts with a culpable mental state with respect to each element of the offense that requires a culpable mental state.
(c) However, a culpable mental state is not required if:
(1) The offense is a violation unless a culpable mental state is expressly included in the definition of the offense;
(2) An offense defined by a statute not a part of the Arkansas Criminal Code clearly indicates a legislative intent to dispense with any culpable mental state requirement for the offense or for any element of the offense; or
(3) The offense is defined as a strict liability offense.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-2-204
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 5-2-204. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.