Arkansas Criminal Defense Blog ©

Around the holiday season various Arkansas law enforcement agencies will generally set up more DWI Roadblocks / Safety Checkpoints. The United States Constitution addresses searches and seizures in the Fourth Amendment:

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” – United States Constitution, Amendment IV

The United States Supreme Court has said that stopping a vehicle at a DWI roadblock is a seizure for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.  See Michigan Dep’t of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 (1990). However, the question becomes: was the seizure unreasonable?

Generally, DWI roadblocks are set up to stop people without prior suspicion of criminal conduct or drunk driving. When this is the case, the Supreme Court of the United States created a three-pronged balancing test to determine the reasonableness of the seizure:

(1) a weighing of the gravity of the public concerns served by the seizure;

(2) the degree to which the seizure advances the public interest; and

(3) the severity of the interference with individual liberty.

Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47 (1979)

How the above factors apply in any particular case are numerous and all very fact-specific. If your DWI in Arkansas involves a roadblock or safety checkpoint it is important to let your attorney know of all the facts surrounding the roadblock experience. Justin Eisele is available for free consultations for your DWI or DUI case in Arkansas.

Tags: Arkansas DWI, Arkansas Drinking Charges, DWI

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Arkansas Code 5-65-105 provides stiff punishment for those who chose to operate a vehicle while their license is still suspended or revoked due due a DWI. If you are caught operating your vehicle while under such a suspension you face the following:

1. Automatic ten (10) days in jail, and

2. Up to a $1,000.00 fine.

If you are facing a driving on supsended charge feel free to set up a free consultation with Justin Eisele at 501-315-5293.

Tags: Arkansas DWI, Arkansas Drinking Charges

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The 2008-2009 Arkansas Legislative session produced several slight, yet impactful, amendments to previously established laws.  It is important for attorneys, as well as citizens, to remain up-to-date on any changes to the laws impacting Arkansas’s criminal system.  The following few selections highlight the most recent changes in our state’s statutes:

1. The fine limits misdemeanors and violations were increased effective July 1, 2009:
   1. Act 209 increased the fine limits for misdemeanors: Class A to $2500; Class B to $1000; and Class C to $500.
   2. Act 341 increased the maximum fine for violation of municipal ordinances from $500 to $1000 and increases continuing violations from $250 to $500.
2. Major changes to Arkansas DWI offense with regard to driver’s license suspension were also made:
   1. Act 922 reduced the time for which a restricted license is imposed for both second and third DWI offenses from three hundred sixty five (365) days to forty five (45) days, after which time an interlock device may be installed.
   2. Act 1293 increased the period of license suspension for a first time DWI from one hundred twenty (120) days to one hundred eighty (180) days.
3. Multiple new criminal offenses were enacted by the Arkansas General Assembly during this past session: 
   1. Act 33 created the offense of “Aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat, or horse.”  A person commits the offense if he or she knowingly tortures one of the abovementioned animals, and the offense is treated as a Class D felony.
   2.  Additionally, Act 33 prohibits all animal fighting in the state of Arkansas.
   3. Act 976 provides that a person who exercises control over private property shall not knowingly allow an individual, who is less than twenty-one years of age and not a family member, to consume alcohol on his or her private property.  For the property owner to be cited, they must be present at the time of the minor’s consumption, which is punishable under a Class C misdemeanor.
4. Sentencing changes were also implemented by the Arkansas General Assembly.  Act 650 increased the penalty for negligent homicide to a Class B felony, and provides that a prior conviction of negligent homicide constitutes a previous offense for the purposes of enhancing DWI sentencing.
5. Laws regarding families in Arkansas were amended as well:
   1. Act 332 encompasses strangulation under the crimes of aggravated assault and assault in the first degree.
   2. Further, aggravated assault on a family or household member was added to the list of offenses that will increase domestic battering from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class D felony for a prior conviction occurring within the past five years pursuant to Act 333.

Remember, staying updated on current legal issues can make a significant impact on the sentencing phase of a criminal case.  If you have any questions regarding these most recent Legislative updates, contact our firm at jeisele@eiselelaw.com.

Tags: Arkansas DWI, Arkansas Drinking Charges, Arkansas Felonies, Arkansas Misdemeanors, DWI

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In Arkansas, it is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 to purchase, or have possession of, alcohol. Arkansas Code Annotated 3-3-203.

The punishment for the being in violation of the Arkansas Minor in Possession (MIP) laws is as follows:

1. Up to a $500.00 fine.

2. Possible Probation.

3. Immediate Suspension of License. The period of suspension will depend on how many prior MIP violations the offender has in his/her record.

4. Have to write essay or theme.

Tags: Arkansas Drinking Charges

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There are many people in Arkansas, who are not even true “criminals”, who have experienced, or know those who have experienced, either a “drinking in public” charge or a “public intoxication” charge.

Both of these offenses are located in the Arkansas Code at 5-71-212.

A rough break down of what the prosecutor has to prove in each of these charges is as follows:

Public Intoxication:

1. You are in a public place, and

2. you are manifestly under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, and either
3. you are a danger to yourself or others persons or property, or

4. you unreasonably annoy a person in your vicinity.

Usually a trial for Public Intoxication comes down whether you were actually in a public place or whether, or not you were a danger to yourself or others.

Drinking in Public:

1. You consume alcoholic beverages,

2. in a public place, or

3. a highway or street, or

4. upon any passenger coach, streetcar, or in or upon any vehicle commonly used for the transportation of passengers; or

5. in or about any depot, platform, waiting station or room, or other public place.

For drinking in public you do NOT have to be intoxicated. You only have to be drinking in a place you are not supposed to be.

It is important to hire an experienced Arkansas criminal defense attorney when dealing with any criminal charges. The Eisele Law Firm, P.A. has experience in handling both of these types of charges.

Tags: Arkansas Drinking Charges, Arkansas Misdemeanors

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