Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-502 (2026)

Interference with court-ordered custody

✓ current as of May 2026

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A person commits the offense of interference with court-ordered custody if the person:
1. Knowing that he or she has no lawful right to do so, takes, entices, or keeps any minor from any person entitled by a court decree or order to the right of custody of the minor;
2. Without lawful authority, knowingly or recklessly takes or entices, or aids, abets, hires, or otherwise procures another person to take or entice, any minor or any incompetent person from the custody of:
  1. The parent of the minor or incompetent person;
  2. The guardian of the minor or incompetent person;
  3. A public agency having lawful charge of the minor or incompetent person;
  4. Any other lawful custodian; or
  5. A person described in subdivisions (a)(2)(A), (B), or (D) of this section while the custodian and minor are being housed at a shelter as defined in § 9-4-102;
3. 1. Has been awarded custody or granted an adoption or guardianship of a juvenile pursuant to or arising out of a dependency-neglect action pursuant to the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, § 9-27-301 et seq., and subsequently places the juvenile in the care or supervision of any person:
    1. From whom the juvenile was removed; or
    2. The court has specifically ordered not to have care, supervision, or custody of the juvenile.
  2. Subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section shall not be construed to prohibit a placement described in subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section if the person who has been granted custody, adoption, or guardianship obtains a court order to that effect from the juvenile division of circuit court that made the award of custody, adoption, or guardianship; or
4. Accepts or acquiesces in taking physical custody for any length of time of a juvenile who was removed from the person or if the court has specifically ordered that the person not have care, supervision, or custody of the juvenile pursuant to or arising out of a dependency-neglect action pursuant to the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, § 9-27-301 et seq.
1. 1. Interference with court-ordered custody under subdivision (a)(1) of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
  2. However, interference with court-ordered custody under subdivision (a)(1) of this section is a Class D felony if the minor is:
    1. Taken, enticed, or kept outside the State of Arkansas; or
    2. Taken from any person entitled by a court decree or order to the right of custody of the minor while the custodian and minor are being housed at a shelter as defined in § 9-4-102, even if the minor is not taken outside the State of Arkansas.
2. Interference with court-ordered custody under subdivision (a)(2) of this section is a Class C felony.
3. 1. Interference with court-ordered custody under subdivision (a)(3) of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
  2. However, any subsequent offense of interference with court-ordered custody under subdivision (a)(3) of this section shall constitute a Class C felony.
4. 1. Interference with court-ordered custody under subdivision (a)(4) of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
  2. However, any subsequent offense of interference with court-ordered custody under subdivision (a)(4) of this section shall constitute a Class C felony.
1. In every case prior to serving a warrant for arrest on a person charged with the offense of interference with court-ordered custody, the police officer or other law enforcement officer shall inform the Department of Human Services of the circumstances of any minor named in the information or indictment as having been taken, enticed, or kept from the custodian in a manner constituting interference with court-ordered custody or placed with a person prohibited under subdivision (a)(3) of this section.
2. A representative of the department shall be present with the arresting police officer or law enforcement officer to take the minor into temporary custody of the department pending further proceedings by a court of competent jurisdiction.
1. A court of competent jurisdiction shall determine the immediate custodial placement of any minor pursuant to a petition brought by the department or an agency of the department to determine if there is probable cause to believe the minor may be:
  1. Removed from the jurisdiction of the court;
  2. Abandoned; or
  3. Outside the immediate care or supervision of a person lawfully entitled to custody.
2. Except in a situation arising under subdivisions (a)(3) or (4) of this section, the court shall immediately give custody to the lawful custodian if it finds that the lawful custodian is present before the court.
1. A petitioner shall comply with the requirements of § 9-27-312 with regard to the giving of a notice and the setting of a hearing.
2. The petitioner is immune from liability with respect to any conduct undertaken pursuant to this section unless it is determined that the petitioner acted with actual malice.

History. Acts 1985, No. 540, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2416; Acts 1987, No. 483, § 1; 1987, No. 898, § 1; 1995, No. 1343, § 1; 2001, No. 1503, § 16; 2001, No. 1553, § 11; 2005, No. 1870, § 1.

Cross References. Child custody and visitation, § 9-13-101 et seq.

Duties and responsibilities of custodian, § 9-27-353.

Research References

U. Ark. Little Rock L.J.

Survey — Family Law, 10 U. Ark. Little Rock L.J. 577.

Case Notes

Double Jeopardy.

Defendant father found guilty of contempt for failure to timely return child to mother's custody could not also be convicted of a violation of this section for the same offense. Hobbs v. State, 43 Ark. App. 149, 862 S.W.2d 285 (1993).

Intent.

Conviction for taking child from legal custody and out of state was upheld where there was no evidence that the court had any knowledge of defendant's intent to remove child from its jurisdiction, and intent of defendant to return child did not take her out of operation of former section which provided penalty for taking children from person having legal custody. Estes v. State, 246 Ark. 1145, 442 S.W.2d 221 (1969) (decision under prior law).

Out-of-State Custody Order.

Defendant was properly convicted of interference with custody under this section for not returning his children to his ex-wife pursuant to a Pennsylvania custody order; the fact that the order had not yet been registered in Arkansas for 10 days under § 9-19-305 did not bar a criminal prosecution, as that requirement only applied in a civil enforcement action. Sections 9-19-303(b) and 9-19-315 further support this result. Longeway v. State, 2018 Ark. App. 356, 553 S.W.3d 180 (2018).

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1993–2025 · leading case: Lee v. Arkansas Dep't of Human Servs., 285 S.W.3d 277 (Ark. Ct. App. 2008).

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Lee v. Arkansas Dep't of Human Servs., 285 S.W.3d 277 (Ark. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 4× “Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-26-502 (Repl.2006) would impose criminal liability on Ms.”

Carr v. Nance, 370 S.W.3d 826 (Ark. 2010). · cites it 2× “Ark.Code Ann. § 5-26-502(e); § 12-13-303(e).”

Roeder v. United States, 2014 Ark. 156 (Ark. 2014). · cites it 2× “, Ark.Code Ann. § 5-26-502(e)(2) (Repl.2013) (interference-with-court-ordered-custody statute providing immunity for petitioner unless the petitioner acted with “actual malice”); id.”

Penn v. State, 44 S.W.3d 746 (Ark. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 4× “Patricia Penn, an attorney licensed in the State of Tennessee, was charged in Crittenden County Circuit Court with interference with custody, a class D felony, under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-502 . Penn filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that her prosecution would violate the…”

Hobbs v. State, 862 S.W.2d 285 (Ark. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “On July 26,1991, John Burton Hobbs was charged with interference with custody, a Class D felony, in violation of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-502 (1987). That statute provides in pertinent part: (a) A person commits the oifense of interference with custody if, knowing that he or she…”

Longeway v. State, 553 S.W.3d 180 (Ark. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 8× “Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-502 (a)(1). Under the elements of the criminal offense, the only relevant inquiry was whether Nathan was legally entitled to keep the children, regardless of whether the underlying custody order was civilly enforceable in either Pennsylvania or Arkansas.”

S.F. v. Arkansas Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 274 S.W.3d 334 (Ark. Ct. App. 2008). “(3) Failure to abide by subdivision (e)(1) of this section is punishable as a criminal offense pursuant to § 5-26-502(a)(3). K.A. testified that her parents had returned the child to her in August 2006 and that T.”

Patrick Cobb v. State of Arkansas, 2025 Ark. App. 420 (Ark. Ct. App. 2025). · cites it 2× “On February 2, 2024, the State charged Cobb with interference with court-ordered custody, a Class D felony, pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-26-502 (Repl. 2024). The circuit court issued an arrest warrant for Cobb, and the accompanying affidavit provided that on…”

— Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-502(a)(3) — 1 case

— Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-502(e) — 1 case

Carr v. Nance, 370 S.W.3d 826 (Ark. 2010). “Ark.Code Ann. § 5-26-502(e); § 12-13-303(e).”

— Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-502(e)(2) — 1 case

Roeder v. United States, 2014 Ark. 156 (Ark. 2014). “, Ark.Code Ann. § 5-26-502(e)(2) (Repl.2013) (interference-with-court-ordered-custody statute providing immunity for petitioner unless the petitioner acted with “actual malice”); id.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.