No record of the forfeiture of a bond or of the conviction of any person for any violation of this subtitle shall be admissible as evidence in any court in any civil action.
History. Acts 1937, No. 300, § 158; Pope's Dig., § 6818; Acts 1961, No. 216, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 75-1011.
Case Notes
Arrest Record.
Certified Copies.
Error in Testimony.
Guilty Pleas.
Harmless Error.
Testimony of Court Officials.
Witness Statements.
A question pertaining to the arrest of a defendant is not incompetent under this section. Beene v. Youngblood, 247 Ark. 667, 447 S.W.2d 62 (1969).
A trial court in an action stemming from a traffic mishap was correct in refusing to allow the certified copy of the record of the municipal court in which an individual paid a fine for “failure to allow the right-of-way” to be introduced in evidence. Harbor v. Campbell, 235 Ark. 492, 360 S.W.2d 758 (1962).
Where a party to a civil action was asked whether or not he had pleaded guilty to driving on the wrong side of the road and he answered, “Yes, I forfeited bond,” the error was that of the party so testifying and therefore not available to him as grounds for reversal. Midwest Bus Lines v. Williams, 243 Ark. 854, 422 S.W.2d 869 (1968).
While the municipal court record of a conviction for a traffic violation cannot be introduced because of this section, a plea of guilty as reflected in the records is competent as a declaration against interest. In addition, the arresting officer may testify as to what transpired in his presence, and if he is present in the court room at the time the case is heard, the officer may testify in a subsequent civil action as to any plea the defendant entered in his presence in the municipal court criminal action. MFA Mut. Ins. Co. v. Dixon, 243 F. Supp. 806 (W.D. Ark. 1965).
A plea of guilty to violation of a traffic law was an admission against interest, and a question in a civil action as to whether defendant so pleaded was proper. Midwest Bus Lines v. Williams, 243 Ark. 854, 422 S.W.2d 869 (1968).
Only proper evidence relating to a traffic violation conviction is a party's plea of guilty in open court. Dedman v. Porch, 293 Ark. 571, 739 S.W.2d 685 (1987).
Where probation contract was insufficient to support a finding that defendant had entered a guilty plea in open court, it was properly excluded by the trial court in a civil action. Ice v. Bramlett, 311 Ark. 157, 842 S.W.2d 29 (1992).
Trial court did not err by granting a motion in limine to prohibit introduction of evidence, in wrongful death action brought after one passenger died in automobile accident, that both drivers pleaded nolo contendere to the charge of negligent homicide under this section and § 27-50-307 resulting from the collision. Patterson v. Odell, 322 Ark. 394, 909 S.W.2d 648 (1995).
In a personal injury action, question about whether the defendant received a ticket for traffic violation was improper; however, where the trial court sustained objection to this question and promptly admonished the jury to disregard the question and answer and defendant neither moved for a mistrial nor made other evidence of disagreement, any prejudice arising from the question was removed. Breitenberg v. Parker, 237 Ark. 261, 372 S.W.2d 828 (1963).
Testimony of municipal court deputy clerk from the docket sheet of the various details of the case just as effectively introduced a record of conviction in the municipal court for violation of this section as if the docket sheet had been made an exhibit and thus violated this section. Garver v. Utyesonich, 235 Ark. 33, 356 S.W.2d 744 (1962).
A witness' statement that the police officer investigating the accident said he would have to take the driver to town was not evidence of a conviction, and thus does not violate this section. Fletcher v. Johnson, 231 Ark. 132, 328 S.W.2d 373 (1959).
Cited: Girard v. Kuklinski, 235 Ark. 337, 360 S.W.2d 115 (1962); Bearden v. J.R. Grobmyer Lumber Co., 331 Ark. 378, 961 S.W.2d 760 (1998); Dovers v. Stephenson Oil Co., 354 Ark. 695, 128 S.W.3d 805 (2003).