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Ark. Code Ann. § 5-38-312

No presumption on cause of fire

Applied in 2 court decisions — leading case 2015 Ark. App. 211 - Fronterhouse v. State (2015)

Most recently applied in Molpus v. State (September 2015)

Acts 2013, No. 982, § 1.

(1) The purpose of this section is to: Clarify that there is not a presumption as to the cause of fire related to a violation of this subchapter;

(2) Abolish any common law contrary to this section, including without limitation Johnson v. State, 198 Ark. 871, 131 S.W.2d 934 (1939) and Thomas v. State, 295 Ark. 29, 746 S.W.2d 49 (1988); and

(3) Clarify that there is no change under this section to the public policy as it relates to civil actions involving the cause of a fire.

(4) There is not a presumption in a prosecution brought under this subchapter that: A fire was caused by: Accident; or

(5) Natural causes; or

(6) A fire was set on purpose or of incendiary origin.

(7) The burden of proof for the cause of a fire in a prosecution brought under this subchapter is beyond a reasonable doubt as provided under § 5-1-111.

(8) This section does not affect a civil action involving the cause of a fire.

Current official text: Arkansas General Assembly. Digitized from the UniCourt Code Improvement Commission public-domain capture. Reproduced from public-domain Arkansas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.