By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas constables have the authority to patrol and issue traffic citations on interstate highways within the townships they serve, state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said in an opinion Wednesday.

McDaniel issued the opinion in response to a question from state Rep. David Dunn, D-Forrest City. Dunn had asked if the constable of Wheatley, who is also the town’s police chief, had the authority as constable to patrol Interstate 40 in Wheatley and issue citations to motorists for traffic violations.

“I believe the answer to both questions is ‘yes,’” McDaniel said in the opinion.

McDaniel said the state constitution establishes the office of constable, but constables’ duties and obligations historically have been defined by statute. The Legislature has never restricted constables from operating on highways within their township boundaries, he said.

McDaniel also said the Legislature has authorized constables to arrest anyone who could be arrested by a justice of the peace. Amendment 80, approved by voters in 2000, abolished the law enforcement authority of justices of the peace, but McDaniel said the Legislature “has taken no action to amend constables’ arrest authority.”

Under the Rules of Criminal Procedure, an officer who has the authority to make arrests also has the authority to issue citations, according to the attorney general.

“Because constables can issue citations to those whom they can arrest, constables can issue citations to those who commit violations,” McDaniel said in the opinion.

Phone calls to the Wheatley Police Department in St. Francis County went unanswered Wednesday afternoon.