Ark. Code Ann. § 5-53-108 (2026)
Witness bribery
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A person commits witness bribery if he or she:
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Offers, confers, or agrees to confer any benefit upon a witness or a person he or she believes may be called as a witness with the purpose of:
- Influencing the testimony of that person;
- Inducing that person to avoid legal process summoning that person to testify; or
- Inducing that person to absent himself or herself from an official proceeding to which that person has been legally summoned; or
- Solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept any benefit and the conferring of the benefit is prohibited by this section.
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Offers, confers, or agrees to confer any benefit upon a witness or a person he or she believes may be called as a witness with the purpose of:
- Witness bribery is a Class B felony.
History. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 2608; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2608; 2019, No. 1017, § 1.
Amendments. The 2019 amendment substituted “Class B felony” for “Class C felony” in (b).
Research References
U. Ark. Little Rock L.J.
Perroni & McNutt, Criminal Contingency Fee Agreements: How Fair Are They?, 16 U. Ark. Little Rock L.J. 211.
Case Notes
Evidence.
Evidence held sufficient to support conviction. Kerr v. State, 256 Ark. 738, 512 S.W.2d 13 (1974), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1110, 95 S. Ct. 783, 42 L. Ed. 2d 806 (1975) (decision under prior law).
Student's testimony that, prior to sexual assault charges being filed, defendant teacher approached him and told him to tell the victim, also a student, that the teacher would give the victim money if she would drop the case, was sufficient to support the teacher's conviction for witness bribery under subdivision (a)(1) of this section. Paschal v. State, 2012 Ark. 127, 388 S.W.3d 429 (2012).
Indictment or Information.
Indictment held to be sufficient. Kirkpatrick v. State, 177 Ark. 1124, 9 S.W.2d 574 (1928) (decision under prior law).
Testimony Pursuant to Plea Bargain.
The trial court properly denied a motion in limine in a murder prosecution which sought to exclude the testimony of a coperpetrator who had entered into a plea agreement with the state which was conditioned upon his truthful testimony at the defendant's trial on the basis that such testimony would be the result of witness bribery. Windsor v. State, 338 Ark. 649, 1 S.W.3d 20 (1999).
Cited: Clark v. State, 291 Ark. 405, 725 S.W.2d 550 (1987).