Robert G. Leeka, Appellant v. State of Arkansas, Appellee

Summary

The court held that the DWI statute requires proof of a culpable mental state because it is part of the Arkansas Criminal Code and does not fall within the statutory exception for offenses outside that Code. It also held that Leeka preserved the statutory-interpretation issue by raising it before the circuit court and obtaining a ruling, without needing a sufficiency motion or posttrial motion. The conviction was reversed and remanded. Justice Danielson, joined by the chief justice, dissented, reasoning that the emergency clause showed an intent to make DWI independent of the general criminal-code mens rea requirement.