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Erin W. Lewis Law

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Email: erin@erinwlewislaw.com

Court Rules that Security Cameras are Communication Devices

In the state of Arkansas, it is unlawful to use a communication devise in committing or facilitating the commission of any drug-related felony offense. Arkansas Code Annotated section 5-64-404 defines “communication device” as “any public or private instrumentality used or useful in the transmission of a writing, sign, signal, picture, or sound of any kind.” Ark. Code Ann. § 5-64-404(a). Furthermore, the statue provides that a communication device includes “mail, telephone, w

Stepparent Adoption: Court Order Suspending a Biological Mother's Visitation Held Not to be a &q

In Arkansas, a party petitioning a court to grant an adoption must first obtain the parents’ consent to adopt their child. There are certain situations, however, in which a parent’s consent is not required. Consent to an adoption is not required of a “parent of a child in the custody of another, if the parent for a period of at least (1) year has failed significantly and without justifiable cause (i) to communicate with the child or (ii) to provide for the care and support of

DWI – Strict Liability Offense, Tackett v. State, 2017 Ark. App. 271

In this case, the Defendant appealed his DWI conviction arguing that the trial court erred in finding that the State was not required to prove a culpable mental state in order to obtain a conviction for a first-offense DWI. Tackett v. State, 2017 Ark. App. 271, at 1. Arkansas has the following culpable mental states: Purposely; Knowingly; Recklessly; and Negligently. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-2-202. The Defendant was arrested for a DWI after police officers found him asleep behind t

Not Required to Prove Natural Parent Unfit to be Appointed as Guardian, Mossholder v. Coker 2017 Ark

This case involves a mother’s appeal from an order granting a paternal grandmother guardianship over her two children. On appeal, the mother argued that the trial court erred in awarding the grandmother guardianship because the grandmother failed to prove that she was an “unfit” parent. Mossholder v. Coker, 2017 Ark. App. 279, at 1. Under Arkansas law, a parent is unfit when he or she has been abusive or had no contact with or failed to provide for the child for an extended t

Court of Appeals Affirms Lower Court’s Denial of a Motion to Dismiss Based on Double Jeopardy McClen

In 1982, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment protects defendants from repeated prosecutions for the same offense. Oregon v. Kennedy, 456 U.S. 667, 672 (1982). When a mistrial is granted over the objection of a defendant, the test to determine if this double jeopardy protection applies is whether the mistrial was a “manifest necessity.” Id. If the defendant, on the other hand, moves for a mistrial, the “manifest n

Retained Earnings of Closely Held Corporations and Income Determination for Child Support Purposes,

Pursuant to Arkansas Child Support Guidelines, income for child support purposes means any form of payment, periodic or otherwise, due to an individual, regardless of source, including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, workers’ compensation, disability, payments pursuant to a pension or retirement program, and interest. Ark. Admin. Order No. 10, Section II. The definition of income is “intentionally broad and designed to encompass the widest range or sources.” Evans v. T

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