Arkansas Case Commentaries

No Appellate Jurisdiction Without Finality: Mixed § 14-56-425 Zoning Appeals and Civil Claims Require Full Disposition or Rule 54(b) Certification

Date: Jan 16, 2026

No Appellate Jurisdiction Without Finality: Mixed § 14-56-425 Zoning Appeals and Civil Claims Require Full Disposition or Rule 54(b) Certification Introduction In Eureka Gun and Pawn, LLC; And...

Clarifying Sufficiency Review and Immediate Post‑Invocation Interrogation in Arkansas: Commentary on Reggie Matthews v. State

Date: Dec 14, 2025

Clarifying Sufficiency Review and Immediate Post‑Invocation Interrogation in Arkansas: Commentary on Reggie Matthews v. State, 2025 Ark. 213 I. Introduction The Supreme Court of Arkansas’s decision...

Rehabilitative Use of Child Forensic Interviews and the Limits of Arkansas’s Tender-Years Hearsay Exception: Commentary on Minor Child v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. 210

Date: Dec 14, 2025

Rehabilitative Use of Child Forensic Interviews and the Limits of Arkansas’s Tender-Years Hearsay Exception: Commentary on Minor Child v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. 210 I. Introduction The Arkansas...

Legislative Power over Voter‑Initiated Constitutional Amendments in Arkansas: Overruling Edgmon and Recasting Amendment 98’s Germaneness Clause

Date: Dec 14, 2025

Legislative Power over Voter‑Initiated Constitutional Amendments in Arkansas: Overruling Edgmon and Recasting Amendment 98’s Germaneness Clause I. Introduction The Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision...

Program Beneficiaries’ Right to Intervene: Arkansas Supreme Court Expands Rule 24(a)(2) in Challenges to the LEARNS Act

Date: Dec 14, 2025

Program Beneficiaries’ Right to Intervene: Arkansas Supreme Court Expands Rule 24(a)(2) in Challenges to the LEARNS Act Introduction In Erika Lara, Katie Parrish, and Nikita Glendenning v. Gwen...

Substance Over Caption: Illegal‑Exaction Suits Against the State and the Limits of Sovereign Immunity in Arkansas – Commentary on Arkansas Dep’t of Education v. Faulkenberry, 2025 Ark. 203

Date: Dec 14, 2025

Substance Over Caption: Illegal‑Exaction Suits Against the State and the Limits of Sovereign Immunity in Arkansas I. Introduction In Arkansas Department of Education v. Faulkenberry, 2025 Ark. 203...

Premeditation and a Single Gunshot: Clarifying Capital Murder in Arkansas – Commentary on Lazarus Reaves v. State

Date: Dec 14, 2025

Premeditation and a Single Gunshot: Clarifying Capital Murder in Arkansas – Commentary on Lazarus Reaves v. State, 2025 Ark. 202 I. Introduction In Lazarus Reaves v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. 202,...

No Implied Municipal Power to Exclude Supplemental Waste Providers Under the Arkansas Solid Waste Management Act

Date: Dec 10, 2025

No Implied Municipal Power to Exclude Supplemental Waste Providers Under the Arkansas Solid Waste Management Act I. Introduction In Steven Hedrick and X-Dumpsters v. City of Holiday Island, 2025 Ark....

Material Adversity Among Co‑Defendants: Arkansas Clarifies Rule 1.9 Conflicts in Pinnacle In Home Care, LLC v. 1 Source Senior Care, LLC

Date: Dec 10, 2025

Material Adversity Among Co‑Defendants: Arkansas Clarifies Rule 1.9 Conflicts in Pinnacle In Home Care, LLC v. 1 Source Senior Care, LLC, 2025 Ark. 193 1. Introduction In Pinnacle In Home Care, LLC...

Respondeat Superior in Commute/Remote-Jobsite Cases: Workers’ Compensation “Going-and-Coming” Rule Not Dispositive; Summary Judgment Limited to Relief Requested

Date: Nov 21, 2025

Respondeat Superior in Commute/Remote-Jobsite Cases: Workers’ Compensation “Going-and-Coming” Rule Not Dispositive; Summary Judgment Limited to Relief Requested I. Introduction Rebecca Skala (as...

Rejecting the Workers’ Compensation “Going-and-Coming” Rule in Arkansas Respondeat Superior: Commentary on Skala v. Comfort Systems USA, Inc., 2025 Ark. 183

Date: Nov 21, 2025

Rejecting the Workers’ Compensation “Going-and-Coming” Rule in Arkansas Respondeat Superior: Commentary on Skala v. Comfort Systems USA, Inc., 2025 Ark. 183 I. Introduction In Skala v. Comfort...

Reaffirming Nonhearsay Course-of-Conduct Statements and Strict Preservation of Cumulative Error: Commentary on Kevasia Tate v. State of Arkansas (2025 Ark. 186)

Date: Nov 21, 2025

Reaffirming Nonhearsay Course-of-Conduct Statements and Strict Preservation of Cumulative Error: Commentary on Kevasia Tate v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. 186 I. Introduction The Arkansas Supreme...

Preserving and Proving Evidentiary Error on Appeal: Prejudice, Record-Building Under Rule 612, and Cumulative-Error Preservation in Arkansas

Date: Nov 21, 2025

Preserving and Proving Evidentiary Error on Appeal: Prejudice, Record-Building Under Rule 612, and Cumulative-Error Preservation in Arkansas Case: Kevasia Tate v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. 186...

“Internal Improvement” Under Ark. Const. art. 7, § 28 Means Public Infrastructure—Private Flooding Disputes Stay in Circuit Court

Date: Nov 14, 2025

“Internal Improvement” Under Ark. Const. art. 7, § 28 Means Public Infrastructure—Private Flooding Disputes Stay in Circuit Court 1. Introduction In David Scott Taylor v. Rick Ferguson; Paradise...

Nonfinality of Rule 4 Service Dismissals: No Appellate Jurisdiction When Claims May Be Refiled

Date: Nov 14, 2025

Nonfinality of Rule 4 Service Dismissals: No Appellate Jurisdiction When Claims May Be Refiled Introduction In Robert Taylor v. Arkansas Post-Prison Transfer Board and Arkansas Division of...

Article 7, Section 28 Narrowed: “Internal Improvement” Means Public Infrastructure, and Private Flooding Tort Claims Belong in Circuit Court

Date: Nov 14, 2025

Article 7, Section 28 Narrowed: “Internal Improvement” Means Public Infrastructure, and Private Flooding Tort Claims Belong in Circuit Court I. Introduction In David Scott Taylor v. Rick Ferguson;...

Nonfinality of Rule 4(i)(1) Service-of-Process Dismissals: No Appellate Jurisdiction When Claims May Be Refiled

Date: Nov 14, 2025

Nonfinality of Rule 4(i)(1) Service-of-Process Dismissals: No Appellate Jurisdiction When Claims May Be Refiled 1. Introduction In Robert Taylor v. Arkansas Post-Prison Transfer Board and Arkansas...

File-Stamp Omissions on Criminal Informations Are Non‑Jurisdictional and Do Not Support Habeas Relief

Date: Nov 1, 2025

File-Stamp Omissions on Criminal Informations Are Non‑Jurisdictional and Do Not Support Habeas Relief Case: Edward Lee Carter v. Dexter Payne, Director, Arkansas Division of Correction, 2025 Ark. 168...

Article 5, § 1 Controls: Arkansas Supreme Court Invalidates County Initiative Filing Statutes and Bars “Carryover” Certification of Untimely Petitions

Date: Nov 1, 2025

Article 5, § 1 Controls: Arkansas Supreme Court Invalidates County Initiative Filing Statutes and Bars “Carryover” Certification of Untimely Petitions Introduction This commentary examines the...

Preservation Is Paramount: Arkansas Supreme Court Clarifies Rule 33.1 Applies to Sentence Enhancements and Specific Sufficiency Grounds

Date: Oct 18, 2025

Preservation Is Paramount: Arkansas Supreme Court Clarifies Rule 33.1 Applies to Sentence Enhancements and Specific Sufficiency Grounds Introduction In Morgan Weatherford v. State of Arkansas, 2025...