§ 9-27-301. Title

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989”.

§ 9-27-302. Purposes — Construction

This subchapter shall be liberally construed to the end that its purposes may be carried out: (1) To assure that all juveniles brought to the attention of the courts receive the guidance, care, and control, preferably in each juvenile’s own home when the juvenile’s health and safety are not at risk, that will best serve […]

§ 9-27-303. Definitions

As used in this subchapter: (1) “Abandoned infant” means a juvenile less than nine (9) months of age whose parent, guardian, or custodian left the child alone or in the possession of another person without identifying information or with an expression of intent by words, actions, or omissions not to return for the infant; (2) […]

§ 9-27-304. Provisions supplemental

(a) Unless this subchapter otherwise provides, nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to be in conflict with, to repeal, or to prevent proceedings under any act or statute of this state that may otherwise define any specific act of any person as a crime or misdemeanor, which act might also constitute contributing to the […]

§ 9-27-305. Applicability

Any juvenile within this state may be subjected to the care, custody, control, and jurisdiction of the circuit court.

§ 9-27-306. Jurisdiction

(a) (1) The circuit court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of and shall be the sole court for the following proceedings governed by this subchapter, including without limitation: (A) (i) Proceedings in which a juvenile is alleged to be delinquent as defined in this subchapter, including juveniles ten (10) to eighteen (18) years of age. […]

§ 9-27-307. Venue

(a) (1) (A) Except as set forth in subdivisions (a)(2)-(4) of this section, a proceeding under this subchapter shall be commenced in the circuit court of the county in which the juvenile resides. (B) (i) No dependency-neglect proceeding shall be dismissed if a proceeding is filed in the incorrect county. (ii) If the proceeding is […]

§ 9-27-308. Personnel — Duties

(a) Intake Officers. (1) The judge or judges of the circuit court designated to hear juvenile cases in their district plan under Supreme Court Administrative Order Number 14, originally issued April 6, 2001, shall designate no fewer than one (1) person in his or her judicial district as intake officer for the court. (2) (A) […]

§ 9-27-309. Confidentiality of records — Definition

(a) All records may be closed and confidential within the discretion of the circuit court, except: (1) Adoption records, including any part of a dependency-neglect record that includes adoption records, shall be closed and confidential as provided in the Revised Uniform Adoption Act, § 9-9-201 et seq.; (2) Records of delinquency adjudications for which a […]

§ 9-27-310. Commencement of proceedings

(a) Proceedings shall be commenced by filing a petition with the circuit clerk of the circuit court or by transfer by another court. (b) (1) The prosecuting attorney shall have sole authority to file a delinquency petition or petition for revocation of probation. (2) Only a law enforcement officer, prosecuting attorney, the Department of Human […]

§ 9-27-311. Required contents of petition

(a) The petition shall set forth the following: (1) (A) The name, address, gender, Social Security number, and date of birth of each juvenile subject of the petition. (B) A single petition for dependency-neglect or family in need of services shall be filed that includes all siblings who are subjects of the petition; (2) The […]

§ 9-27-312. Notification to defendants

(a) In a delinquency and family-in-need-of-services case, a juvenile defendant ten (10) years of age and above, any persons having care and control of the juveniles, and all adult defendants shall be served with a copy of the petition and either a notice of hearing or order to appear in the manner provided by the […]

§ 9-27-313. Taking into custody

(a) (1) A juvenile only may be taken into custody without a warrant before service upon him or her of a petition and notice of hearing or order to appear as set out under § 9-27-312: (A) Pursuant to an order of the circuit court under this subchapter; (B) By a law enforcement officer without […]

§ 9-27-314. Emergency orders

(a) (1) In a case in which there is probable cause to believe that immediate emergency custody is necessary to protect the health or physical well-being of the juvenile from immediate danger or to prevent the juvenile’s removal from the state, the circuit court shall issue an ex parte order for emergency custody to remove […]

§ 9-27-315. Probable cause hearing

(a) (1) (A) Following the issuance of an emergency order, the circuit court shall hold a probable cause hearing within five (5) business days of the issuance of the ex parte order to determine if probable cause to issue the emergency order continues to exist. (B) (i) The hearing shall be limited to the purpose […]

§ 9-27-316. Right to counsel

(a) (1) In delinquency and family in need of services cases, a juvenile and his or her parent, guardian, or custodian shall be advised by the law enforcement official taking a juvenile into custody, by the intake officer at the initial intake interview, and by the court at the juvenile’s first appearance before the circuit […]

§ 9-27-317. Waiver of right to counsel — Detention of juvenile — Questioning

(a) Waiver of the right to counsel at a delinquency or family in need of services hearing shall be accepted only upon a finding by the court from clear and convincing evidence, after questioning the juvenile, that: (1) The juvenile understands the full implications of the right to counsel; (2) The juvenile freely, voluntarily, and […]

§ 9-27-318. Filing and transfer to the criminal division of circuit court

(a) The state may proceed with a case as a delinquency only when the case involves a juvenile: (1) Fifteen (15) years of age or younger when the alleged delinquent act occurred, except as provided by subdivision (c)(2) of this section; or (2) Less than eighteen (18) years of age when he or she engages […]

§ 9-27-319. Double jeopardy

(a) No juvenile who has been subjected to an adjudication pursuant to a petition alleging him or her to be delinquent shall be tried later under criminal charges based upon facts alleged in the petition to find him or her delinquent. (b) No juvenile who has been tried for a violation of the criminal laws […]

§ 9-27-320. Fingerprinting or photographing

(a) (1) When a juvenile is arrested for any offense that if committed by an adult would constitute a Class Y, Class A, or Class B felony, the juvenile shall be photographed and fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency. (2) In the case of an allegation of delinquency, a juvenile shall not be photographed or […]