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Arkansas · Snapshot open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-201: Bigamy

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. AR Code
  2. Title 5
  3. Chapter 26
  4. Subchapter 2

(a) A person commits bigamy if, being married, he or she purports to marry another person. (b) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that at the time of the alleged offense the actor: (1) Reasonably believed that the prior spouse was dead; (2) Had lived apart from the prior spouse for five (5) consecutive years throughout which time the prior spouse was not known to the actor to be alive; (3) Reasonably believed that a court had ordered a valid termination or annulment of the prior marriage; or (4) Otherwise reasonably believed that the actor was legally eligible to marry. (c) Bigamy is a Class A misdemeanor. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 2402; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2402.

(a) A person commits bigamy if, being married, he or she purports to marry another person.

(b) It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under this section that at the time of the alleged offense the actor: (1) Reasonably believed that the prior spouse was dead; (2) Had lived apart from the prior spouse for five (5) consecutive years throughout which time the prior spouse was not known to the actor to be alive; (3) Reasonably believed that a court had ordered a valid termination or annulment of the prior marriage; or (4) Otherwise reasonably believed that the actor was legally eligible to marry.

(1) Reasonably believed that the prior spouse was dead;

(2) Had lived apart from the prior spouse for five (5) consecutive years throughout which time the prior spouse was not known to the actor to be alive;

(3) Reasonably believed that a court had ordered a valid termination or annulment of the prior marriage; or

(4) Otherwise reasonably believed that the actor was legally eligible to marry.

(c) Bigamy is a Class A misdemeanor.

Collected 2026-09-14T18:32:41Z. Source file · JSON

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