Arkansas Criminal Statute of Limitations Laws

Arkansas Code § 5-1-109

The following felonies can be tried at any time:

• Capital murder (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(1)(A))
• Murder in the first degree (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(1)(B))
• Murder in the second degree (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(1)(C))
• Rape, if the victim was a minor at the time of the crime (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(1)(D)), or if the alleged perpetrator's biological evidence is identified and is capable of producing a DNA profile (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(b)(1)(B))
• Sexual indecent with a child (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(1)(E))
• Sexual assault in the first degree (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(1)(F))
• Sexual assault in the second degree, if the victim was a minor at the time of the crime (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(1)(G))
• Most sex crimes against children (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(a)(1)(H)-(M))

Other felonies:

• Arson: 10 years (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(a)(3))
• Class Y felony or Class A felony: Six years (unless otherwise noted) (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(b)(1)(A))
• Class B felony, Class C felony, D felony, or unclassified felony: Three years (unless otherwise noted) (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(b)(2)(A))
• Insurance fraud: Three years. If the act involved a motor vehicle purposely used to cause a car accident, five years. (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(b)(B)(i)(a)-(b))
• Other kinds of fraud or breach of fiduciary duty: One year (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(c)(1))
• Felonious conduct by a public servant: Five years after they leave public office or employment or after the crime was discovered or should have been discovered. (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(c)(2)(A)). The state must file the lawsuit within 10 years of the conduct. (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(c)(2)(B))

One year (Ark. Code § 5-1-109(b)(3)(A))

The following offenses don't have a statute of limitations if the victim was a minor at the time of the offense, the victim did not report it to a law enforcement agency or a prosecuting attorney, and the victim is younger than 28 years of age:

• Sexual assault in the third degree (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(a)(2)(A))
• Sexual assault in the fourth degree (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(a)(2)(B))
• Endangering the welfare of a minor in the first degree (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(a)(2)(C))
• Permitting the abuse of a minor (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(a)(2)(D))
• Possessing or using child sexual abuse material (child pornography) (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(a)(2)(E))

If a mandated reporter of child abuse did not make a report, the state must file a charge for failing to report within 10 years after the child turns 18. (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(a)(4))

The statute of limitations does not run when:

• The accused is continually absent from Arkansas, has no reasonably ascertainable home, or has no reasonably ascertainable place of work within the state. (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(g)(1)(A)). These circumstances cannot extend the applicable limitation period by more than three years. (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(g)(1)(B))
• When the state has a pending prosecution against the offender in Arkansas for the same conduct. (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(g)(2))

Even if the statute of limitations for a crime has expired, the prosecution can still bring a case when DNA testing implicates someone identified through a search of a State DNA Data Base or National DNA Index System. (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(i))

A person commits an offense when either of the following happens:

• Every element of a crime happens, or
• There is a legislative purpose to prohibit a course of conduct that plainly appears at the time the defendant terminates their course of conduct (or complicity in the course of conduct). (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(e)(1)(A)-(B))

The statute of limitations begins to run the day after an offense's commission. (Ark. Code §§ 5-1-109(e)(2))