State v. Riggs

Steele Hays, Justice.

Arkansas Code Ann. § 5-37-525 (Supp. 1989) makes it a crime for a contractor or subcontractor to knowingly refuse to pay for materials. The trial court held the statute unconstitutional and the state appeals. We affirm.

Appellee, Gary Riggs, was arrested on two misdemeanor counts of defrauding a materialman under § 5-37-525 for failing to pay for materials totalling $3,729.77. Riggs was convicted in municipal court on both counts. Riggs appealed to the Independence County Circuit Court and moved to dismiss the charges on the ground that § 5-37-525 violated art. 2, § 16 of…