Article 7, Arkansas Constitution

Arkansas Constitution
Preamble
Articles
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • Schedule • Proclamation
Amendments

Article 7 of the Arkansas Constitution is entitled Judicial Department. It has 52 sections. However, many of them have been repealed.

Section 1-18

§ Sections 1-18 have been repealed.

Section 19

Text of Section 19: Circuit Clerks - Election - Term of office - Ex officio duties - County clerks elected in certain counties The clerks of the circuit courts shall be elected by the qualified electors of the several counties for the term of four (4) years, and shall be ex officio clerks of the county and probate courts and recorder; provided that in any county having a population exceeding fifteen thousand (15,000) inhabitants, as shown by the last federal census, there shall be elected a county clerk, in like manner as the clerk of the circuit court, for the term of four (4) years, and in such case the county clerk shall be ex officio clerk of the probate court of such county until otherwise provided by the General Assembly.

Amendments

• Amended on November 8, 2016, via voter approval of Issue 1.

Sections 20-22

§ Sections 20-22 have been repealed.

Section 23

	Text of Section 23: Charge to Juries Judges shall not charge juries with regard to matters of fact, but shall declare the law; and, in jury trials, shall reduce their charge or instructions to writing, on the request of either party.

Section 24

Section 24 has been repealed.

Section 25

Section 25 has been repealed.

Section 26

	Text of Section 26: Punishment of Indirect Contempt Provided for by Law The General Assembly shall have power to regulate, by law, the punishment of contempts; not committed in the presence or hearing of the courts, or in disobedience of process.

Section 27

	Text of Section 27: Removal of County and Township Officers - Grounds The Circuit Court shall have jurisdiction upon information, presentment, or indictment, to remove any county or township officer from office for incompetency, corruption, gross immorality, criminal conduct, malfeasance, misfeasance or nonfeasance in office.

Section 28

Text of Section 28: County Courts - Jurisdiction - Single Judge Holding Court The County Courts shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in all matters relating to county taxes, roads, bridges, ferries, paupers, bastardy, vagrants, the apprenticeship of minors, the disbursement of money for county purposes, and in every other case that may be necessary to the internal improvement and local concerns of the respective counties. The County Court shall be held by one judge, except in cases otherwise herein provided.

Section 29

Text of Section 29: County Judge - Election - Term - Qualifications The judge of the county court shall be elected by the qualified electors of the county for the term of four (4) years. He or she shall be at least twenty-five (25) years of age, a citizen of the United States, an individual of upright character, of good business education, and a resident of the state for two (2) years before his or her election; and a resident of the county at the time of his or her election, and during his or her continuance in office.

Amendments

• Amended on November 8, 2016, via voter approval of Issue 1.

Section 30

Text of Section 30: Quorum Court The Justices of the Peace of each county shall sit with and assist the County Judge in levying the county taxes, and in making appropriations for the expenses of the county, in the manner to be prescribed by law; and the County Judge, together with a majority of said Justices, shall constitute a quorum for such purposes; and in the absence of the County Judge a majority of the Justices of the Peace may constitute the court, who shall elect one of their number to preside. The General Assembly shall regulate by law the manner of compelling the attendance of such quorum.

Section 31

	Text of Section 31: County Court - Terms The terms of the County Courts shall be held at the times that are now prescribed for holding the Supervisors' Courts, or may hereafter be prescribed by law.

Section 32

Section 32 was repealed.

Section 33

	Text of Section 33: Appeals from County and Common Pleas Courts Appeals from all judgments of County Courts or Courts of Common Pleas, when established, may be taken to the Circuit Court under such restrictions and regulations as may be prescribed by law.

Section 34

Section 34 was Repealed.

Section 35

Section 35 was Repealed.

Section 36

Text of Section 36: Special Judges of County or Probate Courts Whenever a Judge of the County or Probate Court may be disqualified from presiding, in any cause or causes pending in his court, he shall certify the facts to the Governor of the State, who shall thereupon commission a special judge to preside in such cause or causes during the time said disqualification may continue, or until such cause or causes may be finally disposed of.

Section 37

Text of Section 37: Compensation of County Judge - Powers During Absence of Circuit Judge The County Judge shall receive such compensation for his services as presiding Judge of the County Court, as Judge of the Court of Probate and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, when established, as may be provided by law. In the absence of the Circuit Judge from the county, the County Judge shall have power to issue orders for injunctions and other provisional writs in their counties, returnable to the court having jurisdiction; provided, that either party may have such order reviewed by any superior Judge in vacation in such manner as shall be provided by law. The County Judge shall have power, in the absence of the Circuit Judge from the county, to issue, hear and determine writs of habeas corpus, under such regulations and restrictions as shall be provided by law.

Section 38

	Text of Section 38: Justices of the Peace - Election - Term - Oath The qualified electors of each township shall elect the Justices of the Peace for the term of two years; who shall be commissioned by the Governor, and their official oath shall be indorsed on the commission.

Section 39

Section 39 was repealed.

Section 40

Section 40 was repealed.

Section 41

	Text of Section 41: Qualifications of Justice of Peace A Justice of the Peace shall be a qualified elector and a resident of the township for which he is elected.

Section 42

Section 42 was repealed.

Section 43

Section 43 was repealed.

Section 44

Section 44 was repealed.

Section 45

Section 45 was repealed.

Section 46

Text of Section 46: County Executive Officers - Compensation of County Assessor The qualified electors of each county shall elect one (1) sheriff, who shall be ex officio collector of taxes, unless otherwise provided by law; one (1) assessor, one (1) coroner, one (1) treasurer, who shall be ex officio treasurer of the common school fund of the county, and one (1) county surveyor for the term of four (4) years, with such duties as are now or may be prescribed by law provided that no per centum shall ever be paid to assessors upon the valuation or assessment of property by them. If a separate collector of taxes has been created by law for a county, the qualified electors of that county shall elect one (1) collector of taxes for a term of four (4) years, with duties as provided by law.

Amendments

• Amended on November 8, 2016, via voter approval of Issue 1.

Section 47

	Text of Section 47: Constables - Term of Office - Certificate of Election The qualified electors of each township shall elect the Constable for the term of two years, who shall be furnished, by the presiding Judge of the County Court, with a certificate of election, on which his official oath shall be indorsed.

Section 48

	Text of Section 48: Commissions of Officers All officers provided for in this article, except Constables, shall be commissioned by the Governor.

Section 49

	Text of Section 49: Style of Process and of Indictments All writs and other judicial process, shall run in the name of the State of Arkansas, bear test and be signed by the clerks of the respective courts from which they issue. Indictments shall conclude: "Against the peace and dignity of the State of Arkansas."

Section 50

Section 50 was repealed.

Section 51

Text of Section 51: Appeals from County or Municipal Allowances - Bond That in all cases of allowances made for or against counties, cities or towns, an appeal shall lie to the Circuit Court of the county, at the instance of the party aggrieved, or on the intervention of any citizen or resident and tax payer of such county, city or town, on the same terms and conditions on which appeals may be granted to the Circuit Court in other cases; and the matter pertaining to any such allowance shall be tried in the Circuit Court de novo. In case an appeal be taken by any citizen, he shall give a bond, payable to the proper county, conditioned to prosecute the appeal, and save the county from costs on account of the same being taken.

Section 52

Text of Section 52: Appeals in Election Contests That in all cases of contest for any county, township, or municipal office, an appeal shall lie at the instance of the party aggrieved, from any inferior board, council, or tribunal to the Circuit Court, on the same terms and conditions on which appeals may be granted to the Circuit Court in other cases, and on such appeals the case shall be tried de novo.

Section 53

Text of Section 53: County officers ineligible to civil office A person elected or appointed to any of the following county offices shall not, during the term for which he or she has been elected, be appointed or elected to any civil office in this state: (1) County judge; (2) Justice of the peace; (3) Sheriff; (4) Circuit clerk; (5) County clerk; (6) Assessor; (7) Coroner; (8) Treasurer; (9) County surveyor; or (10) Collector of taxes.

Amendments

• Added on November 8, 2016, via voter approval of Issue 1.

See also

• State constitution
• Constitutional article
• Constitutional amendment
• Constitutional revision
• Constitutional convention
• Amendments
  • Initiated constitutional amendment
  • Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment
  • Publication requirements for proposed state constitutional amendments
  • Rules about constitutional conventions in state constitutions
  • State constitutional articles governing state legislatures

External links

Suggest a link

• Arkansas Constitution

Additional reading

• Cash, Marie. "Arkansas Achieves Statehood.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly 2 (December 1943): 292.
• Goss, Kay C. (1993) The Arkansas State Constitution: A Reference Guide. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.
• Civil War Helena, "The Constitution of 1868"
• Ledbetter, Jr., Cal, "The Constitution of 1868: Conqueror's Constitution or Constitutional Continuity?" in The Arkansas Historical Quarterly