session, when deemed for the best interests of society and the defendant.12 Since the suspension may be for an indefinite time, there is no limit to the time when such suspension may be revoked.13 The statute of limitations applies to institution of proceedings, not imposition of sentence.14 Revocation jury.15 may be by the judge after a hearing without a Probation officers: Qualifications.-The State director of parole and probation must be a "properly qualified person," appointed "after a proper examination," and he is classified under the civil service. His salary is $3,000 a year, in addition to traveling expenses.16 Probation officers: Powers and duties.-The State director of probation and parole, in addition to his parole duties, is responsible for the proper supervision of all State probationers and of their records and may call on all police and peace officers for aid." The statute states that the supervision of the State director "shall supplant parole supervision by any other State agency except that held by the courts." Since the courts, in the past, have never exercised any parole supervision in Arkansas, the statute may refer to probation supervision. If this is the case, local courts may still exercise probation supervision in addition to that given by the State director.18 Effect of suspension and probation.-If imposition of sentence has been suspended, the defendant has not been "convicted" of crime so as to exclude him as a witness,1o or to revoke his license as a physician.20 However, by statute, the postponement is made a conviction in that all 19 Id. § 4054. 18 Denham v. State, 180 Ark. 382, 21 S. W. (2d) 608 (1929); Hartley v. State, 184 Ark. 237, 42 S. W. (2d) 7 (1931); Freeman v. City of Benton, 191 Ark. 1131, 89 S. W. (2d) 738 (1936). "Freeman v. City of Benton, 191 Ark. 1131, 89 S. W. (2d) 738 (1936). 15 Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 4054. 16 Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 12772 (a). 19 Owen v. State, 86 Ark. 317, 111 S. W. 466 (1908); Michigan-Arkansas Lumber Co. v. Bullington, 106 Ark. 25, 152 S. W. 999 (1912). 20 State Medical Board v. Rodgers, 190 Ark. 266, 79 S. W. (2d) 83 (1935). costs are due and payable as though sentence had been pronounced.21 Interstate cooperation.—The 1937 legislature passed an act authorizing the board of pardons and paroles created in the same year to make compacts with other States "relating to the supervision of parolees and probationers of this State and other States." 22 The Governor is also directed to make such compacts.23 PAROLE History. The original parole and general sentence laws of Arkansas were enacted in 1907.1 Under the terms of this act the State penitentiary board was given authority to grant parole to all eligible inmates. This basic parole law remained unchanged until 1937. Although from time to time the official designation of the parole board was altered, such change in designation usually accompanied the frequent changes in the government of the Arkansas prison system. In 1927 the Governor was given power to appoint a State parole officer, whose duty, among other duties, was to keep in touch with all persons on parole in order that reports of violations might be given to the Governor and parole board. In 1933 the superintendent of penal institutions assumed the duties of the warden and of the parole officer, the last two offices having been abolished in that year.3 The law of 1937 made considerable progress in the matter of parolee supervision by establishing the office of the director of probation and parole.5 21 Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 4055. Compare Huddleston v. Craighead County, 128 Ark. 287, 194 S. W. 17 (1917) decided before this statute was adopted, holding that a suspended sentence is not a conviction entitling the prosecuting attorney to his fee. 22 Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 12771. 23 Id. § 5400. 1 Ark. Acts 1907, No. 440. 2 Ark. Acts 1927, No. 37, § 18. 3 Ark. Acts 1933, No. 30, §§ 15, 16, 17. 4"An act providing for the creation of a board of pardons and paroles; the appointment of a State director of probation and paroles and specifying the duties and powers of said board in administering its functions; and for other purposes." Ark. Acts 1937, No. 178; Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) §§ 1276812773. 5 Id. 12772. By whom administered.-Under the new act, the authority to grant paroles is vested in the newly-created board of pardons and paroles." The duty of supervising all parolees and probationers rests with the director of probation and parole. The director is appointed by the board of pardons and parole after he has passed a proper examination, and is classified under the civil service law.8 The 1937 act also provides that State police officers and other peace officers may be called upon to assist the State director of probation and parole in enforcing the parole law." Under the former law the authority to parole inmates of the State farm for women was vested in the board of directors of that institution.10 However, it is apparent that the board of pardons and paroles has, under the new law • Id. § 12771. The State penal board is declared by statute to be the State board of pardons and paroles. Id. § 12768. The term "State penal board" is not specifically mentioned elsewhere in the Arkansas statutes, but is in all probability one and the same as the "board of penal institutions" established in 1933 under the provisions of Ark. Acts 1933, No. 30. The board of penal institutions consists of five members, all of whom are residents of Arkansas. Members are appointed by the Governor with the consent of the State senate, and hold office at the pleasure of the Governor. Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 12643. Members of the board of pardons and paroles may be removed by the Governor for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office. One against whom charges are preferred must be provided with a copy of the charges and must be given an opportunity to be heard in the matter on not less than 10 days notice. Id. § 12769. Members of the board of penal institutions are paid $5 per day plus expenses while on official duty. Id. § 12643. Id. § 12772. Under this section it is provided that "Such supervision of parole shall supplant parole supervision by any other state agency except that held by the courts Since the Arkansas law does not provide for parole, as such, by the courts, it is suggested that the "parole" supervision of the court above mentioned is in fact that power which is conferred upon the trial court under the provisions of Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 4053. Under this statute the court may postpone pronouncement of final sentence upon conditions of probatiotn which are deemed reasonable. It is, therefore, apparent that the 1937 Act in mentioning the court's "parole supervision" actually has reference to its supervision of probation. 8 Id. 12772. The director of probation and parole receives a salary of $3,000 per year in addition to necessary traveling expenses. • Ibid. 10 Ark. Dig. Stat. (Crawford & Moses, 1921) § 9317. acquired the authority to parole inmates of that institution.11 Persons eligible for parole.-The parole law of 1937 does not define or list the types of prisoners who are eligible to parole. It does, however, refer to "eligible" prisoners. Consequently, information in this connection must be obtained from the previously applicable law. An indication of the time at which a prisoner is eligible is found in the following statute: "It shall be the duty of the State Board of Penitentiary Commissioners to convene on the first Monday in June 1907, and on the same date each 3 months following, to consider the advisability of releasing those convicts who have served one third of a definite sentence as herein after provided." 12 This statute is somewhat ambiguous due to the fact that the word "releasing" as therein employed is subject to more than one construction.18 From a study of this and related sections it is apparent that those inmates serving definite sentences are eligible for parole whenever one third of a definite sentence has been served. "Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 12771. "It shall be the duty of said board to investigate the advisability of granting a parole of any prisoner confined in any penal institution of this State Ibid. 12 Id. 12734. 18 This ambiguity has given rise to varying interpretations of the actual meaning of this section. For example, in Wright, Digest of Indeterminate Sentence and Parole Laws (1936) 82, there appears this statement: "Paroles are granted by this board at the expiration of the prisoner's minimum term of sentence." In Arkansas the minimum term of sentence is provided for only under the "general sentence" law. Compare the above quotation with the following language: "The law provides that where a person has received a general sentence (i. e., one with minimum and maximum terms) such person shall not be eligible for parole until the minimum term has been served; but no use seems to be made of the statute and this limitation on eligibility can therefore be disregarded in considering the present status of the parole system. Instead of using the general sentence we are informed that the courts or juries in practice impose definite sentences, and in such cases the statutes do not contain any time limitation on the eligibility of prisoners applying for parole. However, the board is authorized to make such rules and regulations as it deems fit, and it has ruled that no application shall be received until a prisoner has served one-third of his time." The Prison Labor Problem in Arkansas, a survey of the Prison Industries Reorganization Administration (1936) 34. These general and conflicting statements are in part to be attributed to the fact that Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) § 12734, as originally set forth in Ark. Acts, 1907, No. 440, omitted the word "releasing." The section was thereafter carried in Ark. Dig. Stat. (Castle, Supp. 1905-11) § 5872 with the term "paroling" employed in lieu of the word "releasing." The time at which a prisoner serving a general sentence 1* is eligible for parole cannot be readily ascertained from an examination of the statutes. The section in which provision is made for the general sentence reads in part: "At any time after the expiration of the minimum time, upon recommendation of the board of penitentiary commissioners and it appearing that a prisoner has a good record as a convict, his sentence may be terminated by the board." 15 The word "terminated" as employed in the general sentence statute has been interpreted in Arkansas to be synonymous to "parole." Consequently, the prevailing practice has been to regard male prisoners serving general sentences as eligible for parole after they have served the minimum period fixed by statute for their respective crimes. Method of application for parole.-Under the Arkansas 1937 parole law the prisoner need not make application for parole. Whenever a person is eligible, the board instigates its own investigation into the propriety of granting parole.1o Prior to the enactment of the new law, it was necessary for the inmate to fill out and file a printed form of application furnished by prison authorities." There is no statutory "Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope, 1937) §§ 4040, 3204, which reads as follows: "Juries and courts shall have the power to assess the punishment of one convicted of a felony at a general sentence to the penitentiary, such sentence not being less than the minimum nor greater than the maximum time provided by law. At any time after the expiration of the minimum time, upon the recommendation of the Board of Penitentiary Commissioners and it appearing that a prisoner has a good record as a convict, his sentence may be terminated by the board." It is obvious that this section makes no reference to parole. Furthermore, Ark. Dig. Stat. (Pope 1937) 12734 does not refer to the paroling of convicts who are under general sentence; it does however, specifically refer to the "releasing" of such convicts, and to the paroling of those under definite sentence. In view of the fact that the general sentence may be terminated by the board at any time after the expiration of the minimum time in certain cases, it is obvious that this type of sentence possesses the essential characteristics of the so-called "indeterminate sentence." 15 Id. § 4040. 16 Id. § 12771. 17 The applicant filed with his application, which was made on a printed form furnished by the prison authorities, a statement signed by a court official of the county from which the applicant was sent to the penitentiary, an employer's agreement to give applicant a job, if paroled, and a "parole bond" in the sum of $100 on condition that the applicant, if paroled, "shall well and truly comply with laws and rules governing paroles and the person paroled." The application was also accompanied by the prison record of the applicant, and such personal. family, social, and criminal record as the prison jackets contained. Unfortunately, this was very meager, for few trial judges and prosecuting attorneys attempted to comply with the statutory requirement of |