Can a justice of the peace bring a firearm into a quorum court meeting in Arkansas?
Subject
Whether an Arkansas justice of the peace may carry a firearm into a quorum court meeting room when the meeting is held in a publicly owned building. AG Tim Griffin (Assistant AG Justin Hughes drafting) concluded open carry is barred and concealed carry is allowed only under three stacked conditions.
Plain-English summary
Arkansas has two separate rule sets for firearms in publicly owned buildings: one for open carry, one for licensed concealed carry. The opinion walks through both.
On open carry: A.C.A. § 5-73-122 makes it a Class C misdemeanor to carry a loaded firearm into a publicly owned building or facility unless an exception applies. There is no exception that lets a justice of the peace openly carry a loaded firearm into a quorum court meeting in a publicly owned building. The "journey exception" at § 5-73-120(c)(4) does not reach § 5-73-122. So a JP showing up to a quorum court meeting with a visible loaded sidearm is committing a misdemeanor, regardless of intent or office.
On concealed carry, things get layered. Two separate statutory restrictions apply when a quorum court meets in a county courthouse, annex, or other county building.
The first restriction is on the building itself. A.C.A. § 5-73-306(5) prohibits licensed concealed carry in any courthouse, courthouse annex, or other building the county owns, leases, or regularly uses for court proceedings or housing a county office. That bar has a narrow exception at § 5-73-306(5)(A)–(C): it doesn't apply to a county employee, a countywide elected official, a justice of the peace, or a licensee employed by another governmental entity housed in the building. But the exception kicks in only if (1) the licensee's principal place of employment is in that building, and (2) the quorum court has adopted by ordinance a security and emergency-preparedness plan authorizing concealed carry under § 5-73-306(5)(C). The opinion notes that a JP's "principal place of employment" for these purposes can be the courthouse, even if the JP holds outside private employment, because JP service under Amendment 55 is centered on county facilities.
The second restriction is on the meeting room itself. A.C.A. § 5-73-306(7) bans licensed concealed carry in any meeting place of the governing body of any governmental entity, which clearly covers a quorum court room. So even if a JP clears the building-level bar under § 5-73-306(5), the meeting-room bar still applies, unless the JP holds an Enhanced Concealed Handgun Carry License (E-CHCL) under § 5-73-322. An E-CHCL under § 5-73-322(h)(2) lifts the § 5-73-306(7) meeting-place restriction, but does not lift the § 5-73-306(5) courthouse restriction.
Putting all that together: a JP can lawfully carry a concealed handgun into a quorum court meeting in a publicly owned county building only if all three of these are true at the same time:
- The JP holds an enhanced concealed carry license (E-CHCL) under A.C.A. § 5-73-322.
- The building where the meeting is held is the JP's principal place of employment, which for a JP can be the courthouse where the JP's official county duties are performed.
- The quorum court has adopted by ordinance a security and emergency-preparedness plan that authorizes concealed carry under § 5-73-306(5)(C), and the JP complies with the plan.
Miss any of those three, and the JP cannot lawfully carry concealed at the meeting. The Crittenden County example in the opinion is instructive: that county had not adopted the required ordinance, so the third condition was not met.
There is also a separate, narrower carve-out at § 5-73-122(b) that lets a law enforcement officer (on or off duty), an officer of the court, a bailiff, or a person authorized by the court possess a handgun in any courtroom or courthouse. That is a different lane and is not the JP exception.
What this means for you
If you are a justice of the peace
Don't open carry into a quorum court meeting in a publicly owned building. That is a misdemeanor. For concealed carry, you need three things stacked: an enhanced license under A.C.A. § 5-73-322, your principal county work location at the building, and a quorum-court-adopted security plan ordinance authorizing concealed carry. Without all three, leave the firearm out of the meeting. If your county has not passed the security plan ordinance, your only options are (a) push the quorum court to pass one or (b) don't carry.
If you are a county sheriff or county attorney advising on courthouse policy
This opinion is the cleanest published roadmap of the layered rules. The key practical lever is the security and emergency-preparedness plan ordinance under § 5-73-306(5)(C). Without that ordinance, every concealed-carry exception inside the courthouse remains gated. Drafting and adopting the ordinance is the gateway. Note that even with the ordinance in place, only enhanced license holders satisfying the principal-place-of-employment test can carry into the actual meeting room.
If you are a quorum court considering whether to adopt the security plan
You are setting policy for who can carry inside your courthouse and meeting rooms. The opinion lays out the legal framework but doesn't recommend a policy choice. Consider: who actually has E-CHCLs, what training and storage standards your plan would impose, whether you want county employees and elected officials to be authorized or only specific roles, and how the plan interacts with public-access rules. The ordinance is the controlling document.
If you are a citizen attending a quorum court meeting
The default rule under § 5-73-306(7) is that licensed concealed carry is prohibited in the meeting place of any governing body. Without an E-CHCL, you cannot lawfully carry concealed in the meeting room. With an E-CHCL, you can carry into the meeting room itself under § 5-73-322(h)(2), but if the meeting is in a county courthouse or other county-occupied building, the building restriction at § 5-73-306(5) may still bar you (you need to fall within an authorized category). Open carry of a loaded firearm into a publicly owned building is barred for everyone with no exception relevant to attendees.
If you are a county elected official (sheriff, judge, clerk) other than a JP
The same § 5-73-306(5) framework applies to you, with the principal-place-of-employment requirement and the ordinance prerequisite. The exception at § 5-73-306(5)(A)(i)–(iv) covers county employees and countywide elected officials. Run the same three-part check: enhanced license, principal location, ordinance.
If you are a security planner for a county building
Build the plan ordinance first. It is the gating piece. Without it, no exception at § 5-73-306(5) operates. With it, you can structure who carries, where, and under what training and storage rules. Coordinate with the county's risk and insurance staff because liability standards may apply to whoever the ordinance authorizes.
Background and statutory framework
Arkansas's general firearms-in-public-buildings rule, A.C.A. § 5-73-122, treats carrying a loaded firearm into a publicly owned building as a misdemeanor unless an exception applies. Section 122(b) creates a narrow exception for law enforcement officers (on or off duty), officers of the court, bailiffs, and persons authorized by the court. Justices of the peace are not on that list.
The licensed concealed carry framework in Arkansas runs through A.C.A. § 5-73-306 (locations where concealed carry is prohibited) and § 5-73-322 (the enhanced license that lifts some of those prohibitions).
Section 5-73-306(5) prohibits concealed carry in courthouses, courthouse annexes, and other buildings owned, leased, or regularly used by a county for court proceedings or county offices. The statute creates a layered exception for certain license-holder categories at § 5-73-306(5)(A)(i)–(iv), conditioned on the licensee's principal place of employment being in the building (§ 5-73-306(5)(B)) and on the quorum court adopting a security and emergency-preparedness plan ordinance authorizing the carry (§ 5-73-306(5)(C)).
Section 5-73-306(7) is a separate restriction, operating independently. It prohibits licensed concealed carry in any meeting place of the governing body of any governmental entity. A quorum court meeting room is plainly such a place.
The enhanced concealed carry license (E-CHCL) under A.C.A. § 5-73-322 is a higher-tier license that requires more training and authorizes carry in some places that ordinary licenses cannot reach. Section 5-73-322(h)(2) lifts the § 5-73-306(7) meeting-place restriction for E-CHCL holders, but does not lift the § 5-73-306(5) courthouse restriction. Sections 5-73-306(19) and (20) carve out additional categories that E-CHCLs do not reach.
Justices of the peace are county officers serving on quorum courts under Ark. Const. Amendment 55. Their official duties (quorum court meetings, related county work) are typically centered in county facilities. The opinion treats this structural fact as relevant to how "principal place of employment" should be read for JPs under § 5-73-306(5)(B): the principal place of employment in the qualifying governmental capacity that triggers the exception, not the JP's outside private employment.
The Crittenden County context that prompted this opinion is illustrative. Crittenden County had not adopted a security and emergency-preparedness plan ordinance under § 5-73-306(5)(C). That single missing piece collapsed the whole concealed-carry exception for the county's courthouse and offices.
Common questions
Can a justice of the peace open carry a loaded handgun into a quorum court meeting?
No. A.C.A. § 5-73-122 makes that a Class C misdemeanor when the meeting is in a publicly owned building. There is no exception covering JPs for open carry. The "journey exception" at § 5-73-120(c)(4) does not apply to § 5-73-122.
Can a JP carry concealed if they have an ordinary concealed carry license?
Generally no, when the meeting is in a publicly owned county building. Two separate restrictions block it: § 5-73-306(5) (the courthouse/county-building bar) and § 5-73-306(7) (the meeting-place bar). An ordinary license does not lift the meeting-place bar at all.
What does the enhanced license (E-CHCL) actually do?
It lifts the meeting-place restriction at § 5-73-306(7). With an E-CHCL under § 5-73-322(h)(2), the JP is no longer barred by § 5-73-306(7) from carrying into a quorum court meeting room. But the E-CHCL does not lift the courthouse/county-building restriction at § 5-73-306(5). The JP still has to satisfy that separate framework.
What is the quorum court ordinance everyone keeps mentioning?
The security and emergency-preparedness plan ordinance authorized by A.C.A. § 5-73-306(5)(C). Without that ordinance, the § 5-73-306(5) exceptions for county employees, JPs, and other authorized categories don't operate. The ordinance is the gating step. Crittenden County, in the example that prompted this opinion, did not have one, and that alone foreclosed the JP's carry.
What if the meeting is held somewhere other than a county courthouse?
The opinion expressly assumes the meeting is in a publicly owned building, including a courthouse, annex, or county building used for court proceedings or housing a county office. If the meeting is somewhere else, the § 5-73-306(5) building restriction may not apply, but § 5-73-306(7) (meeting place of governing body) and § 5-73-122 (publicly owned building, if applicable) still need to be checked.
Does this apply to other public officials, like county clerks or county judges?
The § 5-73-306(5) exception covers a "county employee," a "countywide elected official," "a justice of the peace," and a licensee employed by a governmental entity other than the county whose office is in the building. So yes, the same framework reaches those officials, with the same principal-place-of-employment and quorum-court-ordinance requirements.
Why is the JP's "principal place of employment" so contested?
Because § 5-73-306(5)(B) requires the licensee's principal place of employment to be in the building where they want to carry. JPs often hold outside private employment because the JP role is part-time and per-diem-paid. If "principal place of employment" meant the JP's outside job, the JP exception in § 5-73-306(5)(A)(iii) would rarely apply. The opinion reads "principal place of employment" in the context of the qualifying governmental capacity, so a JP whose county duties are performed in the courthouse meets the requirement even if outside private employment is elsewhere.
What about active and retired law enforcement?
Different framework. A.C.A. § 5-73-122(b) lets a law enforcement officer (on or off duty), officer of the court, bailiff, or person authorized by the court possess a handgun in a courtroom or courthouse. That is a separate carve-out from the JP discussion. Law enforcement does not need to navigate § 5-73-306(5) and (7) the same way a civilian licensee or an elected JP does.
Has the AG's office addressed any related sign-posting questions?
Yes. The opinion footnotes Ark. Att'y Gen. Op. 2025-031, which addressed the journey exception's non-application to publicly owned buildings. AG Opinion 2025-124 (issued the same day as 2026-008) addresses whether the Little Rock Zoo's no-firearms sign violates state preemption.
Citations
The opinion's central authorities, drawn directly from its text:
- Arkansas open-carry rule: A.C.A. § 5-73-122 (loaded firearm in publicly owned building, Class C misdemeanor); § 5-73-122(b) (law enforcement and court-related carve-out); § 5-73-120(c)(4) (journey exception, not applicable to § 5-73-122).
- Arkansas concealed carry framework: A.C.A. § 5-73-306 (prohibited locations); § 5-73-306(5) (courthouse and county-building restriction); § 5-73-306(5)(A) and (5)(A)(i)–(iv) (categorical exceptions including JPs); § 5-73-306(5)(A)(iii) (JP-specific inclusion); § 5-73-306(5)(B) (principal-place-of-employment requirement); § 5-73-306(5)(B)–(C) (combined requirements); § 5-73-306(5)(C) (quorum court ordinance prerequisite); § 5-73-306(7) (meeting-place-of-governing-body restriction); § 5-73-306(19) and (20) (E-CHCL non-coverage carve-outs).
- Enhanced license: A.C.A. § 5-73-322 (E-CHCL); § 5-73-322(g)–(h) (license issuance and authorization); § 5-73-322(h)(2) (E-CHCL lifts § 5-73-306(7) but not § 5-73-306(5)).
- Constitutional: Ark. Const. Amendment 55 (county government structure, JP role).
- Prior AG opinion referenced: Ark. Att'y Gen. Op. 2025-031.
Source
Original opinion text
BOB R. BROOKS JR. JUSTICE BUILDING
101 WEST CAPITOL AVENUE
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS 72201
Opinion No. 2026-008
April 16, 2026
The Honorable Jessie McGruder
State Representative
Post Office Box 1606
Marion, Arkansas 72364
Dear Representative McGruder:
I am writing in response to your request for an opinion on the legality of carrying a firearm into a quorum court room. Your request, which is submitted on behalf of the Crittenden County Sheriff's Office, states that Crittenden County does not have an ordinance approved by its quorum court under A.C.A. § 5-73-306(5)(C) that would allow certain individuals "to carry a concealed handgun into the courthouse, courthouse annex, or other building owned, leased, or regularly used by a county for conducting court proceedings as set out by the local security and emergency preparedness plan." Your correspondence also notes that A.C.A. § 5-73-306(7) bans licensed concealed carry in "[a]ny meeting place of the governing body of any governmental entity." Against this background, you ask:
Can a quorum court member legally open carry a firearm into a quorum court room?
RESPONSE
A justice of the peace may not openly carry a loaded firearm into a quorum court room when the meeting is held in a publicly owned building or facility. A justice of the peace may carry a concealed handgun into a quorum court meeting room located inside a county courthouse or county office only if: (1) the justice holds an enhanced concealed carry license under A.C.A. § 5-73-322(g)–(h); (2) the justice's principal place of employment is in the building where the meeting is held; and (3) the quorum court has adopted by ordinance a security and emergency-preparedness plan that authorizes concealed carry under A.C.A. § 5-73-306(5), with which the justice complies.
DISCUSSION
Your question involves two separate legal issues, open carry and licensed concealed carry, each governed differently under Arkansas law. For this opinion, I assume the quorum court meeting is held in a publicly owned building or facility, such as a courthouse, courthouse annex, or other county building used for court proceedings or housing a county office.
- Open carry. Arkansas law generally prohibits carrying a loaded firearm in a publicly owned building or facility. Under A.C.A. § 5-73-122, doing so is a Class C misdemeanor unless an exception applies. No exception, including the journey exception, authorizes a justice of the peace to openly carry a loaded firearm in a publicly owned building or facility. This prohibition also applies to unlicensed concealed carry. Accordingly, the only potentially lawful means for a justice of the peace to carry a firearm in a quorum court room is through licensed concealed carry.
(Footnote: The journey exception, found in A.C.A. § 5-73-120(c)(4), is not applicable to the crime of carrying a loaded firearm or other deadly weapon in a publicly owned building or facility under A.C.A. § 5-73-122. See also Ark. Att'y Gen. Op. 2025-031.)
- Licensed concealed carry. The primary statutes governing concealed carry in this context are A.C.A. §§ 5-73-306 and 5-73-322. When the quorum court meets in a courthouse or other county building, two restrictions may apply: one tied to the building and another tied to the meeting room itself. With respect to the building restriction, A.C.A. § 5-73-306(5) generally prohibits carrying a concealed handgun into "any courthouse, courthouse annex, or other building owned, leased, or regularly used by a county for conducting court proceedings or housing a county office[.]" Thus, county courthouses, annexes, and similar county buildings are places where licensed concealed carry is prohibited unless an exception applies.
Under § 5-73-306(5), Arkansas law provides a narrow exception for certain categories of license holders, including a county employee, a countywide elected official, a justice of the peace, and a licensee employed by a governmental entity other than the county whose office is located in the building (in which case the authorization is limited to that particular building). But falling within one of these categories is not sufficient by itself. The exception applies only if (1) the person's principal place of employment is in the courthouse or government building where the person seeks to carry and (2) if the quorum court has approved by ordinance a security and emergency preparedness plan allowing concealed carry within county courthouses and offices. If the quorum court has not adopted such a plan by ordinance, then licensed concealed carry remains prohibited in county courthouses and offices under § 5-73-306(5), unless another exception applies.
(Footnotes: A.C.A § 5-73-306(5)(A)(i)–(iv). Id. § 5-73-306(5)(B)–(C). Although justices of the peace often maintain outside employment, a justice of the peace may still satisfy the "principal place of employment" requirement in A.C.A. § 5-73-306(5)(B) when the justice's official county duties are principally performed in the courthouse (or other covered county building). The text of § 5-73-306(5)(A) expressly includes "a justice of the peace" among the licensees for whom the courthouse prohibition does not apply, subject to the additional limitations in subsection (5). Reading subdivision (5)(B) to require that a justice's private (non-county) employment be located in the courthouse would largely nullify the General Assembly's separate inclusion of "a justice of the peace" in subdivision (5)(A)(iii) because eligibility would then turn on unrelated outside employment rather than the justice's county role. A more natural reading is that "principal place of employment" refers to the licensee's principal place of work in the qualifying governmental capacity that triggers subdivision (5)(A), here, service as a justice of the peace, which is primarily carried out through quorum-court meetings and related official functions held at the county seat in county facilities. In addition, justices of the peace are county officials selected as members of the county quorum court under Arkansas Constitution Amendment 55, and their county service is compensated by county ordinance on a per-diem basis, further supporting that their official "employment" for purposes of subdivision (5) is their county office, even if they maintain other jobs.)
(Footnote: Separately from § 5-73-306(5), § 5-73-122(b) allows "a law enforcement officer, either on-duty or off-duty, officer of the court, bailiff, or other person authorized by the court" to possess a handgun in any courtroom or courthouse.)
Even when § 5-73-306(5) would permit a person to carry elsewhere in the courthouse or county building, a separate restriction applies to the quorum court's meeting place. Subsection 5-73-306(7) prohibits licensed concealed carry in "[a]ny meeting place of the governing body of any governmental entity," a category that clearly includes a quorum court room. Accordingly, a justice of the peace who satisfies § 5-73-306(5) may still be prohibited from carrying into the quorum court room under § 5-73-306(7) unless the justice holds an enhanced concealed carry license ("E-CHCL").
Under A.C.A. § 5-73-322(h)(2), an E-CHCL generally authorizes concealed carry in certain locations otherwise prohibited by § 5-73-306, including those described in § 5-73-306(7), but only to the extent permitted by § 5-73-322. This authorization does not extend to places that remain prohibited under § 5-73-306, including courthouses and county offices under § 5-73-306(5). Thus, an E-CHCL removes the § 5-73-306(7) meeting-place restriction but does not remove § 5-73-306(5)'s courthouse-or-county-office restriction. A justice of the peace who holds an E-CHCL must therefore still satisfy the requirements of § 5-73-306(5), including compliance with any requirements imposed by a quorum-court-adopted security plan, to carry a concealed handgun into a quorum court meeting room located in such a building.
(Footnote: A.C.A. § 5-73-322(h)(2) (authorizing E-CHCL holders to carry "a concealed handgun in a prohibited place listed under § 5-73-306(7)–(12), (14), (15), and (17), unless otherwise prohibited under § 5-73-306(19) or § 5-73-306(20)").)
- Conclusion. In sum, a justice of the peace may not openly carry a loaded firearm into a quorum court meeting held in a publicly owned building or facility. The justice may carry a concealed handgun into a quorum court meeting room located in a county courthouse or county office only if (1) the justice holds an E-CHCL under A.C.A. § 5-73-322; (2) the building is the justice's principal place of employment; and (3) the quorum court has adopted by ordinance a security and emergency-preparedness plan authorizing such carry under A.C.A. § 5-73-306(5), with which the justice complies.
Assistant Attorney General Justin Hughes prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Sincerely,
TIM GRIFFIN
Attorney General