Fronterhouse v. State, 2015 Ark. App. 211
Apr 01, 2015OUTCOME: Conviction reversed and remanded. New trial awarded.
At the time of Fronterhouse’s trial, Arkansas law presumed that an unexplained fire was accidental, or at least “not of criminal design.” At trial, the only evidence presented against him was circumst ... antial. The Arkansas Court of Appeals rejected Fronterhouse’s arguments that the trial judge should have instructed the jury about the presumption and that the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction in light of the presumption. Ultimately, however, the Court reversed and remanded Fronterhouse’s case for a new trial because the trial court did not allow Fronterhouse’s trial counsel to impeach a witness with evidence of her prior convictions involving dishonesty. That witness, the Court noted, was even part of Fronterhouse’s defense: That she was involved with framing him.
