Rape.

[Ibanez444]

What is the name of your state? South Dakota


Well, i'm a little unsure of options, heres the situation.

In 2001, maby 2002, a ex-girlfriend of mine charged me with Rape. The jury was hung after two days of trial so the prosecutor offered a plea bargan of Vandalism stemming from damage done to her car that she claimed was intentional. Exausted, I agreed to the charge and pled out of the case.

Since then, I have been attending BHSU and planned to go to Montana state for Law School. I've been accepted, and am excited. But I reciently spoke with a friend of mine in the profession before he left for California, he informed me that I may have trouble with the Character Fitness assesment when attempting to pass the bar. Because of the Rape Charge... Furthermore, I decided to give up my dream and settle for becoming a History Teacher, but alas, the criminal background check would ceritanly prevent me from that.

The tale continues...

The woman who accused me moved to cleveland after she charged me, she apparently came back to town around Christmas of 2003-4. She claimed that I was following her around the mall, an obvious violation of a protection order that was given during the trial.

I provided a time card showing that I was at work during the time she claimed to see me, and the 3 hours surrounding that, but the prosecutor persisted. She offered a pre-trial agreement of Disorderly Conduct. I accepted, as I had no money to fight it and my appointed Attourney was not interested in the case...i didn't know my options then.

Also, fianlly, I have an unrelated petty theft on my record. Thats it.

Obviously, were supposed to live in a country that wouldn consider what I was Charged with but what i was Convicted of....I am not that nieve. I know an administrator would have nothing to do with me as a teacher.

I'm a stright A student, extremely involved, and excited about my future. But all my options are null with this record. I cant spend 3 years in law school just to have them tell me no when I try to pass the bar...I just cant. I want to achieve this though, I would be a damn good lawyer.

Is there anything I can do, any way I can be rid of that damn charge? I'd even keep the conviction, it's just that word...Rape...it's enough to flag anyone.

Signed,

Lost in South Dakota.

[seniorjudge]

Originally Posted by Ibanez444

What is the name of your state? South Dakota


Well, i'm a little unsure of options, heres the situation.

In 2001, maby 2002, a ex-girlfriend of mine charged me with Rape. The jury was hung after two days of trial so the prosecutor offered a plea bargan of Vandalism stemming from damage done to her car that she claimed was intentional. Exausted, I agreed to the charge and pled out of the case.

Since then, I have been attending BHSU and planned to go to Montana state for Law School. I've been accepted, and am excited. But I reciently spoke with a friend of mine in the profession before he left for California, he informed me that I may have trouble with the Character Fitness assesment when attempting to pass the bar. Because of the Rape Charge... Furthermore, I decided to give up my dream and settle for becoming a History Teacher, but alas, the criminal background check would ceritanly prevent me from that.

The tale continues...

The woman who accused me moved to cleveland after she charged me, she apparently came back to town around Christmas of 2003-4. She claimed that I was following her around the mall, an obvious violation of a protection order that was given during the trial.

I provided a time card showing that I was at work during the time she claimed to see me, and the 3 hours surrounding that, but the prosecutor persisted. She offered a pre-trial agreement of Disorderly Conduct. I accepted, as I had no money to fight it and my appointed Attourney was not interested in the case...i didn't know my options then.

Also, fianlly, I have an unrelated petty theft on my record. Thats it.

Obviously, were supposed to live in a country that wouldn consider what I was Charged with but what i was Convicted of....I am not that nieve. I know an administrator would have nothing to do with me as a teacher.

I'm a stright A student, extremely involved, and excited about my future. But all my options are null with this record. I cant spend 3 years in law school just to have them tell me no when I try to pass the bar...I just cant. I want to achieve this though, I would be a damn good lawyer.

Is there anything I can do, any way I can be rid of that damn charge? I'd even keep the conviction, it's just that word...Rape...it's enough to flag anyone.

Signed,

Lost in South Dakota.

Expungement/pardon

There are several thousand questions on this forum similar to yours. Thus, I have prepared a standard answer.

Standard answer: Expungement is generally granted for illegal arrests or unlawful convictions. Generally, pardon mean you are forgiven for the crime but it remains on your record.

The usefulness or effectiveness of either procedure is generally worthless.

Check with the governor or attorney general of your state to see how you can go about either of these procedures. Check with the Attorney General or the President for federal expungement or pardon.

You must remember that there may be private background check companies that have past offenses on their databases; those reports will never be expunged.


[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=848776#post848776[/url]

[url]http://www.uslegalforms.com/lawdigest/expungement-of-criminal-records-law.htm[/url]



Stand by...others may offer more advice.

[scot4538]

I would like to add to Sr. Judge comments that certain states have expungement options for first time offenders ... it is like a second chance to have a clean record, however, once a judgement is entered, this is final unless you pursue within an alowable period.

I have known persons who were denied jobs because of OLD convictions that are much less sever than yours. You are lucky the charges were reduced two times in your past.

In my latest job, my criminal, financial and driving records were checked. The company I work for now also checks for civil lawsuites (I guess to make sure you have not sued previous employers). Some companies go as far as checking local police records at your previous addresses ... this will even give them access to police reports about demestic and such .... yes, even your IP is logged by your ISP when you entered this site.

Good news, even Bill Gates has some sort of a record; having a record does not prevent you from being a millionair and pursuing your dreams.

[calatty]

You can contact the state bar association to find out whether these convictions will prevent you from joining the bar. A vandalism charge alone might not stop you, but when you add in the other two convictions, you might have a problem. You should also consult any attorney to find out what to do to get them expunged. Your story that you pled guilty because your attorney was "not interested in the case" does not ring true. Also, "damn good" attorneys do not commit petty theft.