Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
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1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H4/7/25
2 95th General Assembly
A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1832
4
5 By: Representative M. Shepherd
6 By: Senator Hester
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 TO AMEND THE RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT AND COURT OF
10 APPEALS OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS TO GRANT EXCLUSIVE
11 ORIGINAL JURISDICTION OF FACIAL CONSTITUTIONAL
12 CHALLENGES TO THE COURT OF APPEALS; TO AMEND A RULE
13 OF THE SUPREME COURT UNDER THE AUTHORITY GRANTED BY
14 ARKANSAS CONSTITUTION, AMENDMENT 80, � 9; AND FOR
15 OTHER PURPOSES.
16
17
18 Subtitle
19 TO AMEND THE RULES OF THE SUPREME COURT
20 AND COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF
21 ARKANSAS; AND TO AMEND A RULE OF THE
22 SUPREME COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS UNDER
23 THE AUTHORITY GRANTED BY THE ARKANSAS
24 CONSTITUTION.
25
26 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
27
28 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. (a) The General
29 Assembly finds:
30 (1)(A) Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, � 9, provides that
31 any rules promulgated by the Supreme Court under Arkansas Constitution,
32 Amendment 80, �� 5, 6(B), 7(B), or 8, may be annulled or amended, in whole or
33 in part, by a two-thirds vote of the membership of each house of the General
34 Assembly.
35 (B) Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, � 5, concerns the
36 Court of Appeals.
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1 (C) Rule 1-2 of the Rules of the Supreme Court and Court
2 of Appeals of the State of Arkansas addresses the jurisdiction of the Court
3 of Appeals; and
4 (2) Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, � 10, provides that the
5 General Assembly shall have the power to establish jurisdiction of all courts
6 and venue of all actions therein, unless otherwise provided in the Arkansas
7 Constitution.
8 (b) The purpose of this act is to establish the:
9 (1) Exclusive original jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals
10 under the authority of Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, � 9, pertaining
11 to facial constitutional challenges; and
12 (2) Exclusive original jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals
13 under Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 80, � 10, pertaining to facial
14 constitutional challenges.
15
16 SECTION 2. Pursuant to the authority granted under Arkansas
17 Constitution, Amendment 80, � 9, Rule 1-2 of the Rules of the Supreme Court
18 and Court of Appeals of the State of Arkansas is amended to read as follows:
19 Rule 1-2. Appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and Court of
20 Appeals.
21 (a) Original jurisdiction of Court of Appeals for facial
22 constitutional challenges. The Court of Appeals shall have exclusive
23 original jurisdiction over a facial constitutional challenge in which a party
24 seeks in the party's initial or amended pleading to have a provision of an
25 act of the General Assembly, a provision of the Arkansas Code, or a provision
26 of an administrative rule or regulation declared unconstitutional in all of
27 its applications under the United States Constitution or the Arkansas
28 Constitution. In a proceeding under this Rule 1-2(a), the procedure will
29 conform to that prevailing in bench trials in the circuit court. Upon filing
30 the original pleading and payment of a filing fee, a summons or other process
31 will issue by the Clerk. The respondent's pleading must be filed within the
32 time provided by the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure. The decision of the
33 Court of Appeals under this Rule 1-2(a) may be appealed to the Supreme Court.
34 (a)(b) Supreme Court jurisdiction. All cases appealed shall be filed
35 in the Court of Appeals except that the following cases shall be filed in the
36 Supreme Court:
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1 1. All appeals involving the interpretation or construction of
2 the Constitution of Arkansas;
3 2. Criminal appeals in which the death penalty or life
4 imprisonment has been imposed;
5 3. Petitions for quo warranto, prohibition, injunction, or
6 mandamus directed to the state, county, or municipal officials or to circuit
7 courts;
8 4. Appeals pertaining to elections and election procedures;
9 5. Appeals involving the discipline of attorneys-at-law and or
10 arising under the power of the Supreme Court to regulate the practice of law;
11 6. Appeals involving the discipline and disability of judges;
12 7. Second or subsequent appeals following an appeal which has
13 been decided in the Supreme Court; and
14 8. Appeals required by law to be heard by the Supreme Court.
15 (b)(c) Reassignment of cases. Any case is subject to reassignment by
16 the Supreme Court, and in doing so, the Supreme Court will consider but not
17 be limited to the following:
18 (1) issues of first impression,
19 (2) issues upon which there is a perceived inconsistency in the
20 decisions of the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court,
21 (3) issues involving federal constitutional interpretation,
22 (4) issues of substantial public interest,
23 (5) significant issues needing clarification or development of
24 the law, or overruling of precedent, and
25 (6) appeals involving substantial questions of law concerning
26 the validity, construction, or interpretation of an act of the General
27 Assembly, ordinance of a municipality or county, or a rule or regulation of
28 any court, administrative agency, or regulatory body.
29 (c)(d) Transfer and certification. The Supreme Court may transfer to
30 the Court of Appeals any case appealed to the Supreme Court and may transfer
31 to the Supreme Court any case appealed to the Court of Appeals. If the Court
32 of Appeals seeks to transfer a case, the Court of Appeals shall find and
33 certify that the case: (1) is excepted from its jurisdiction by Rule 1-
34 2(a)(b), or (2) otherwise involves an issue of significant public interest or
35 a legal principle of major importance. The Supreme Court may accept for its
36 docket cases so certified or may remand any of them to the Court of Appeals
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1 for decision. The Clerk of the Court shall notify the parties or their
2 counsel of the transfer of any case.
3 (d)(e) Petition for review. No Except as provided in Rule 1-2(a), no
4 appeal as of right shall lie from the Court of Appeals to the Supreme Court.
5 The Supreme Court will exercise its discretion to review an appeal decided by
6 the Court of Appeals only on application by a party to the appeal, upon
7 certification of the Court of Appeals, or if the Supreme Court decides the
8 case is one that should have originally been assigned to the Supreme Court.
9 In determining whether to grant a petition to review, the following, while
10 neither controlling nor fully measuring the Supreme Court's discretion,
11 indicate the character of reasons that will be considered: (i) the case was
12 decided in the Court of Appeals by a tie vote, (ii) the Court of Appeals
13 rendered a decision which is arguably in conflict with a prior holding of a
14 published opinion of either the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals, or
15 (iii) the Court of Appeals arguably erred in some way related to one of the
16 grounds listed in Rule 1-2(b)(c).
17 (e)(f) Improper filing. No case filed in either the Supreme Court or
18 the Court of Appeals shall be dismissed for having been filed in the wrong
19 court but shall be transferred or certified to the proper court.
20 (f)(g) Allocation of workload. Notwithstanding the foregoing
21 provisions, cases may be assigned and transferred between the courts by
22 Supreme Court order to achieve a fair allocation of the appellate workload
23 between the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.
24 (g)(h) In all appeals from criminal convictions or post-conviction
25 relief matters heard in the Court of Appeals, the appellant shall not be
26 required to petition for rehearing in the Court of Appeals or review in the
27 Supreme Court following an adverse decision of the Court of Appeals in order
28 to be deemed to have exhausted all available state remedies respecting a
29 claim of error. When the claim has been presented to the Court of Appeals or
30 the Supreme Court, and relief has been denied, the appellant shall be deemed
31 to have exhausted all available state remedies.
32
33 SECTION 3. Pursuant to the authority granted under Arkansas
34 Constitution, Amendment 80, � 9, Rule 2-4(b) of the Rules of the Supreme
35 Court and Court of Appeals of the State of Arkansas, concerning the contents
36 of a petition, is amended to read as follows:
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1 (b) Contents of petition. A petition to the Supreme Court for review
2 of a decision of the Court of Appeals shall not exceed three 8 1/2 x 11",
3 double-spaced pages in length. The petition must briefly and distinctly
4 state the basis upon which the case should be reviewed and may include
5 citations of authority or references to statutes or constitutional
6 provisions. The petition can only be filed by a party to the appeal and is
7 otherwise subject to Rule 1-2(e)(f).
8
9 SECTION 4. Pursuant to the authority granted under Arkansas
10 Constitution, Amendment 80, � 9, Rule 2-4(d) of the Rules of the Supreme
11 Court and Court of Appeals of the State of Arkansas, concerning grounds for
12 review, is amended to read as follows:
13 (d) Grounds for review. A petition for review must allege one of the
14 following: (i) the case was decided in the Court of Appeals by a tie vote,
15 (ii) the Court of Appeals rendered a decision which is in conflict with a
16 prior holding of a published opinion of either the Supreme Court or the Court
17 of Appeals, or (iii) the Court of Appeals otherwise erred with respect to one
18 of the grounds listed in Rules 1-2(b)(c).
19
20 SECTION 5. Arkansas Code � 16-13-201(a), concerning the jurisdiction
21 of circuit courts, is amended to read as follows:
22 (a)(1) Circuit Except as provided in subdivision (a)(2) of this
23 section, circuit courts shall have original jurisdiction of all justiciable
24 matters not otherwise assigned pursuant to the Arkansas Constitution.
25 (2) The Court of Appeals shall have exclusive original
26 jurisdiction over a facial constitutional challenge in which a party seeks in
27 the party's initial or amended pleading to have a provision of an act of the
28 General Assembly, a provision of the Arkansas Code, or a provision of an
29 administrative rule or regulation declared unconstitutional in all of its
30 applications under the United States Constitution or the Arkansas
31 Constitution.
32
33 SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This act shall be effective on and after
34 November 1, 2025.
35
36 /s/M. Shepherd
5 04-07-2025 10:36:14 MBM197Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.