Arrest record and a CHL application

[kells81]

I have kinda given up working overseas so I figured I would get my CHL. I have taken the class 3 times but ended up back in a sandbox or other area before actually completing. Anyway I have a security clearance and when I was going through that I listed an arrest but they didn't find anything. Forward to now and my CHL application. I have paid to search the DMV and DPS site with no record of it either. The driving offense that was the result of the arrest is not listed either.

The arrest was around 1998 when I was in high school (16 or 17). I was arrested for reckless driving and held overnight in the city jail. The next morning I paid the ticket and was free. I don't know if the judge cut me some slack because she knew I was leaving for the Army or what.

I know the general month it happened but no other real information. Any thoughts on this?

[The Annoyed Man]

You are supposed to be able to provide DPS with all such information. I would begin by contacting the jurisdiction in which you were arrested and held and see what they say. If your searches and theirs have returned nothing, then go ahead and try to submit your application. It may be that charges were dropped, and that's why there is no record of conviction. If DPS does find an area of concern where they need more data, they will contact you by written letter asking for further disposition information, which will hold up processing your app until that information has been provided. As an American born overseas, it happened to me. I had to send them a photocopy of my certificate of live birth signed by the American Consul in Casablanca, as soon as they received it, my application took another month or so to process.......but that was back when processing was averaging 60-90 days for nearly everybody.

If you have a security clearance, can pass a NICS check, and have a reckless driving offence 17 years ago as a minor, I seriously doubt that it will be an issue. In Texas, reckless driving is a misdemeanor, so it matters to you if it was a class A, B, or C misdemeanor if you were in fact convicted. A class A or B misdemeanor conviction disqualifies you for a CHL for a period of 5 years after date of conviction. That time has long passed, so even if you had an A or B conviction, your period of disqualification ended in 2003. ........and all of that assumes that you actually had a conviction......

Better legal minds than mine may correct me if I'm wrong.

[Tracker]

http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/crim ... ealing.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"Motions to seal are available to a juvenile's criminal records. The arrest, detention, prosecution and conviction can be physically sealed, but the process is not automatic. The court reviews several factors, such as the type of case, its disposition, whether there is any new or current charges pending as either an adult or juvenile. The upshot of the sealing of the arrest and prosecution records is that the minor can respond with "no" on applications if asked if she or he has a criminal record.

Moreover Texas has a system that automatically makes juvenile records harder to access once 21 is reached, assuming there has not been any convictions since 17. Called "Automatic Restriction of Access to Records", the minor's records are not destroyed or sealed, but their availability is limited to criminal justice agencies."



Read more: http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com/crim ... z3aJXTnFsK" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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[Jumping Frog]

There have been other similar cases discussed in these forums where someone went to the clerk of courts for the applicable county and submitted a letter from the court that basically said "no records found".