Tracy M. Standridge, Appellant v. State of Arkansas, Appellee

Summary

The court held that the State charged and tried Standridge under a domestic-abuse provision that did not create a criminal offense, rather than under the criminal-code provision governing felony violations of protection orders. Because the charged conduct was not criminal under the cited statute, the circuit court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction, requiring reversal and dismissal of the conviction. The court also concluded that the criminal provision required proof that Standridge had notice of, and an opportunity to participate in, the hearing that produced the protection order. Chief Justice Hannah, dissenting, would have held that the domestic-abuse provision was criminal in nature and affirmed the conviction and sentence.