Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 16 - PRACTICE, PROCEDURE, AND COURTS (§§ 16-1-101 — 16-131-206) › Subtitle 6 - CRIMINAL PROCEDURE GENERALLY (§§ 16-80-101 — 16-102-102) › Chapter 90 - JUDGMENT AND SENTENCE GENERALLY (§§ 16-90-101 — 16-90-1505) › Subchapter 8 - SENTENCING GUIDELINES (§§ 16-90-801 — 16-90-804) › Section 16-90-803 - Voluntary presumptive standards

(a)
(1)
(A)
When a person charged with a felony enters a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, enters a negotiated plea, or is found guilty in a trial before the judge, or when the trial judge is authorized to fix punishment following an adjudication of guilt by a jury pursuant to §
5-4-103
, sentencing may follow the procedures provided in §
16-90-804
.
(B)
However, these sentencing procedures do not apply to probation revocation proceedings.
(2)
The voluntary presumptive sentence for any offender who committed a felony on or after January 1, 1994, may be determined by locating the appropriate cell of the sentencing standards grid.
(b)
The two (2) dimensions of the sentencing standards grid represent the primary determinants of a sentence, offense seriousness and offender history.
(1)
Offense Seriousness.
The offense seriousness level is determined by the offense of conviction or the offense of which the person was found guilty or to which the person pleaded guilty or nolo contendere.
(A)
Felony offenses are ranked by seriousness, with lower seriousness levels representing less serious offenses.
(B)
The typical cases for the offenses listed within each level of seriousness on a grid are deemed to be generally equivalent in seriousness.
(C)
The most frequently occurring offenses within each seriousness level are listed on the vertical axis of the sentencing standards grid.
(D)
The seriousness level for infrequently occurring offenses can be determined by consulting the offense seriousness reference table.
(E)
The seriousness level for inchoate offenses is one (1) level below the level for substantive offenses.
(2)
Offender History.
An offender's criminal history score constitutes the horizontal axis of the sentencing standards grid.
(A)
The offender's criminal history score shall be computed from the following:
(i)
Prior felony records;
(ii)
Prior misdemeanor records;
(iii)
Prior juvenile records, under certain circumstances set out in subdivision (b)(2)(C) of this section; and
(iv)
Custody status at the time of the offense.
(B)
The term "records", for the purpose of computing criminal history scores, shall include all of the following that are entered up to the date of sentencing for the offense:
(i)
Convictions;
(ii)
Findings of guilt;
(iii)
Acceptance of pleas of guilty or nolo contendere;
(iv)
Instances in which the defendant has been placed on probation, suspended imposition of sentence, or suspended execution of sentence;
(v)
Records that have been expunged after August 31, 1994; and
(vi)
Dismissals ordered after August 31, 1994, pursuant to §
16-93-301
et seq.
(C)
The specific weights to be assigned to the various criteria are as follows:
(i)
Weight is assigned to prior felony records according to seriousness level, as follows:
(a)
Seriousness levels I, II, III, IV, and V = one-half (0.5) point; and
(b)
Seriousness levels VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X = one (1) point;
(ii)
Weight is assigned only to Class A misdemeanors.
(a)
Each Class A misdemeanor is worth one-quarter (0.25) point.
(b)
No more than one (1) point may be accrued from misdemeanor records;
(iii)
Weight is assigned only to judicial adjudications of delinquency for offenses for which a juvenile could have been tried as an adult and which the trial court deem relevant to sentencing in the current proceeding.
(a)
Each adjudication is worth one-quarter (0.25) point, except for offenses adjudicated as delinquent which if committed by an adult are worth one (1) point and would have constituted:
(1)
Capital murder, §
5-10-101
;
(2)
Murder in the first degree, §
5-10-102
;
(3)
Murder in the second degree, §
5-10-103
;
(4)
Kidnapping in the first degree, §
5-11-102
;
(5)
Aggravated robbery, §
5-12-103
;
(6)
Rape, §
5-14-103
;
(7)
Battery in the first degree, §
5-13-201
; or
(8)
Aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer or an employee of a correctional facility, §
5-13-211
, if a Class Y felony.
(b)
(1)
No more than one (1) point may be accrued from juvenile offenses unless one (1) of the offenses adjudicated as delinquent would have constituted, if committed by an adult:
(A)
Capital murder, §
5-10-101
;
(B)
Murder in the first degree, §
5-10-102
;
(C)
Murder in the second degree, §
5-10-103
;
(D)
Kidnapping in the first degree, §
5-11-102
;
(E)
Aggravated robbery, §
5-12-103
;
(F)
Rape, §
5-14-103
;
(G)
Battery in the first degree, §
5-13-201
; or
(H)
Aggravated assault upon a law enforcement officer or an employee of a correctional facility, §
5-13-211
, if a Class Y felony.
(2)
An offender may receive no more than two (2) points for juvenile offenses;
(iv)
One (1) point is to be added to an offender's score if the offender is under any type of criminal justice restraint for a felony offense at the time that he or she committed the crime for which he or she is being sentenced. Such restraint includes without limitation pretrial bond, suspended imposition of sentence, probation, parole, postprison supervision, and release pending sentencing for a prior crime;
(v)
(a)
Juvenile offenses must have occurred within ten (10) years of the time of the offense for which an offender is being currently sentenced.
(b)
Misdemeanor offenses must have occurred within ten (10) years of the time of the offense for which an offender is currently being sentenced.
(c)
Felony offenses at seriousness levels I-V will not be counted if a period of fifteen (15) years has elapsed since the date of discharge from or expiration of the sentence to the date of the current offense; and
(vi)
When multiple sentences for a single course of conduct were imposed, only the offense at the highest seriousness level is considered.
(3)
(A)
(i)
The offense of conviction determines the appropriate seriousness level on the vertical axis.
(ii)
The offender's criminal history score determines the appropriate location on the horizontal axis.
(B)
The voluntary presumptive fixed sentence for a felony conviction is found in the sentencing standards grid cell at the intersection of the column defined by the criminal history score and the row defined by the offense seriousness level.
(C)
The statutory minimum or maximum ranges for a particular offense shall govern over a voluntary presumptive sentence if the voluntary presumptive sentence should fall below or above the statutory minimum or maximum ranges.
(4)
This section shall not apply when a jury has recommended a sentence to the trial judge.
(5)
Capital murder is excluded from the sentencing standards and is subject to the procedures in §
5-4-601
et seq.
(c)
For all arrests or offenses occurring before July 1, 2005, that have not reached a final disposition as to judgment in the trial court, sentencing shall be in accordance with the law in effect at the time the offense occurred and not under the provisions of this section.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 659,§ 131, eff. 1/1/2024.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 659,§ 130, eff. 1/1/2024.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 426,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 423,§ 13, eff. 8/1/2017.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 423,§ 14, eff. 8/1/2017.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 367,§ 13, eff. 8/1/2017.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 367,§ 12, eff. 8/1/2017.
Acts 1993, No. 532, § 2; 1993, No. 550, § 2; 1994 (2nd Ex. Sess.), No. 59, § 1; 1994 (2nd Ex. Sess.), No. 60, § 1; 1995, No. 1170, § 7; 2001, No. 1179, § 1; 2005, No. 186, § 1.