Statute prohibiting use of failure to use seatbelts as evidence of comparative fault held to be unconstitutional

Today the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision in Corina Mendoza v. Wis International, Inc. et al, CV-15-677 (2016) struck down A.C.A. § 27-23-703 as unconstitutional.  The statute prohibited evidence of failure to use a seatbelt as evidence of comparative fault.  This case reached the Arkansas Supreme Court as a question of law certified by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

The Court held that A.C.A. § 27-23-703 is a rule of evidence pertaining to “rules of pleading, practice and procedure.”  As such it falls exclusively within the Court’s domain, and the statute offends the principle of separation of powers and the powers specifically prescribed to the Court by Amendment 80 of the Arkansas Constitution. 

Click here for a link to the Court’s opinion.