Ark. Code Ann. § 16-31-101 (2026)
Qualifications
Every registered voter or, in counties where an enhanced prospective jury list is utilized, every registered voter, licensed driver, or person issued an identification card under § 27-16-805 who is a citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of Arkansas and of the county in which he or she may be summoned for jury service is legally qualified to act as a grand or petit juror if not otherwise disqualified under the express provisions of this act.
History. Acts 1969, No. 568, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 39-101; Acts 2003, No. 1404, § 6[5].
A.C.R.C. Notes. Acts 2003, No. 1404, did not contain a Section 4.
Amendments. The 2003 amendment inserted “or, in counties where … under § 27-16-805.”
Meaning of “this act”. Acts 1969, No. 568, codified as §§ 16-30-101, 16-30-103, 16-31-101 — 16-31-104, 16-31-106, 16-31-107, 16-32-101 — 16-32-104, 16-32-106, 16-32-107, 16-32-109.
Research References
ALR.
Prejudical effect of juror's inability to comprehend English. 117 A.L.R.5th 1.
Case Notes
Residency.
Where juror did not meet qualifications because she was not a resident of the county where the case was tried, but she did not knowingly answer falsely any question on voir dire relating to her qualifications, the verdict was not voidable. Bennett v. State, 308 Ark. 393, 825 S.W.2d 560 (1992).
Although defendant's jury included a woman who was a registered voter in the county where the trial was held but was not a resident of that county, defendant was not prejudiced or denied an impartial jury. Bennett v. Lockhart, 39 F.3d 848 (8th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, Bennett v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 1018, 115 S. Ct. 1363 (1995).
Cited: Jackson v. State, 249 Ark. 653, 460 S.W.2d 319 (1970); Renton v. State, 274 Ark. 87, 622 S.W.2d 171 (1981); Brown v. Lockhart, 781 F.2d 654 (8th Cir. 1986); Farmers Bank v. Perry, 301 Ark. 547, 787 S.W.2d 645 (1990).