Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 630 3
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By: Senator B. Davis 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO REQUIRE ONLY A COURT TO FIX PUNISHMENT IF A 9
DEFENDANT IS CHARGED WITH A FELONY OR MISDEMEANOR; TO 10
AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING BIFURCATED SENTENCING 11
PROCEDURES; TO REQUIRE ONLY A JUDGE TO SENTENCE A 12
DEFENDANT FOR A CHARGE THAT RESULTS IN A CONVICTION; 13
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 14
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Subtitle 17
TO REQUIRE ONLY A COURT TO FIX 18
PUNISHMENT IF A DEFENDANT IS CHARGED 19
WITH A FELONY OR MISDEMEANOR; AND TO 20
REQUIRE ONLY A JUDGE TO SENTENCE A 21
DEFENDANT FOR A CHARGE THAT RESULTS IN A 22
CONVICTION. 23
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 25
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 5-4-103 is amended to read as follows: 27
5-4-103. Sentencing — Role of jury and court. 28
(a) If Except in a case in which a defendant is charged with capital 29
murder, § 5-10-101, if a defendant is charged with a felony or misdemeanor 30
and is found guilty of an offense by a jury, the jury court shall fix 31
punishment in a separate proceeding as authorized by this chapter according 32
to § 16-97-101 et seq. 33
(b) Except as provided by §§ 5 -4-601 — 5-4-605, § 5-4-607, and § 5-4-34
608, the court shall fix punishment as authorized by this chapter in any case 35
in which: 36 SB630
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(1) The defendant pleads guilty to an offense; 1
(2) The defendant's guilt is tried by the court; 2
(3) The jury fails to agree on punishment defendant's guilt is 3
tried by a jury; 4
(4) The prosecution and the defense agree that the court may fix 5
punishment; or 6
(5) A jury sentence is found by the trial court or an appellate 7
court to be in excess of the punishment authorized by law. 8
(c) It is the intent of this section to require sentencing in non -9
capital criminal cases be conducted by the court and not by a jury because of 10
the: 11
(1) Technical nature of sentencing; 12
(2) Public interest in consistent and predictable sentencing for 13
similar offenses; 14
(3) Cost of incarceration; and 15
(4) Opportunity to address sentencing in a coordinated fashion, 16
which is available when sentencing is conducted by trained judicial officers. 17
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 16 -97-101 is amended to read as follows: 19
16-97-101. Bifurcated sentencing procedures. 20
The following procedure shall govern jury trials , which include any 21
felony or misdemeanor charges, except in a case in which the defendant is 22
charged with capital murder, § 5 -10-101: 23
(1) The jury shall first hear all evidence relevant to every 24
charge on which a defendant is being tried and shall retire to reach a 25
verdict on each charge; 26
(2)(A) If the defendant is found guilty of one (1) or more 27
charges, the jury shall then hear additional evidence relevant to sentencing 28
on those charges. Evidence introduced in the guilt phase may be considered, 29
but need not be reintroduced at the sentencing phase Following the conclusion 30
of the jury finding of the defendant's guilt or innocence, the court shall 31
discharge the jury and order an applicable conviction. 32
(B) The court shall then sentence the defendant for a 33
charge that results in a conviction. 34
(C) In order to sentence the defendant, the court may: 35
(i) Consider evidence admitted at the first stage of 36 SB630
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the trial; and 1
(ii) Conduct additional proceedings that are 2
necessary or beneficial in determining an appropriate sentence or other 3
judicial response to the conviction entered by the court ; 4
(3) Following the introduction of additional evidence relevant 5
to sentencing, if any, instruction on the law, and argument, the jury shall 6
again retire and determine a sentence within the statutory range; 7
(4) The court, in its discretion, may also instruct the jury 8
that counsel may argue as to alternative sentences for which the defendant 9
may qualify. The jury, in its discretion, may make a recommendation as to an 10
alternative sentence. However, this recommendation shall not be binding on 11
the court; 12
(5) After a jury finds guilt, the defendant, with the agreement 13
of the prosecution and the consent of the court, may waive jury sentencing, 14
in which case the court shall impose sentence; and 15
(6) After a plea of guilty, the defendant , with the agreement of 16
the prosecution and the consent of the court, may shall be sentenced by a 17
jury impaneled for purposes of sentencing only the court. 18
(4) It is the intent of this section to require sentencing in 19
noncapital criminal cases be conducted by the court and not by a jury because 20
of the: 21
(A) Technical nature of sentencing; 22
(B) Public interest in consistent and predictable 23
sentencing for similar offenses; 24
(C) Cost of incarceration; and 25
(D) Opportunity to address sentencing in a coordinated 26
fashion, which is available when sentencing is conducted by trained judicial 27
officers. 28
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