J
jingjing
Guest
I am filling out a form (N-400) for US citizenship
, there are a few legal terminologies I would
want to know thier exact defitions in US.
There is a question on the form like:
"Have you EVER been arrested, cited, or detained
by any law enforcement offier ? (yes/no)"
I'v never been arrested or detained. But what
does "cited" mean here ? Does it include
receive a speeding ticket (Citation) or
similar, and indicate that you must present
in court ? Or it mean something more serious
.
About seven year ago I involved in a case (about wildlife protection) for which I had to present in court. I pled NOT GUILTY, while the Judge said : "You are NOT GUILTY after $50 fine". The Citation was DISPOSED. (The NC Wake Count Court record show this as a "DISPOSED CITATION" and an empty Citation result form).
My question is: legaly was I guilty or not guilty of the charges, or can it be something else ?
(settled, dismissed, etc). I wouldn't think this can be counted as a criminal record. At least not a serious one. Am I right ?
Although I still didn't agree, thinking that I had lots to say to show that I was innocent and didn't deserve even the $50 fine, I went ahead paid the fine to get it over with. I only had a chance to speak for less than two minutes(I recall) before the Judge gave out his rule.
Now I am applying for US Citizenship. Do I have to put a "Yes" for the above metioned question for this. Actually I already decided to put "Yes" and
going to write a explanation about it.
But the application is important. I'd like to
know if it will have any effect on my application. Would it make sense to write a petition to the court to dispute about the citation and the $50 fine ? Actually as long as this can not be considered as a serious crime, I would forget it. I just want to make sure.
Thanks.
, there are a few legal terminologies I would
want to know thier exact defitions in US.
There is a question on the form like:
"Have you EVER been arrested, cited, or detained
by any law enforcement offier ? (yes/no)"
I'v never been arrested or detained. But what
does "cited" mean here ? Does it include
receive a speeding ticket (Citation) or
similar, and indicate that you must present
in court ? Or it mean something more serious
.
About seven year ago I involved in a case (about wildlife protection) for which I had to present in court. I pled NOT GUILTY, while the Judge said : "You are NOT GUILTY after $50 fine". The Citation was DISPOSED. (The NC Wake Count Court record show this as a "DISPOSED CITATION" and an empty Citation result form).
My question is: legaly was I guilty or not guilty of the charges, or can it be something else ?
(settled, dismissed, etc). I wouldn't think this can be counted as a criminal record. At least not a serious one. Am I right ?
Although I still didn't agree, thinking that I had lots to say to show that I was innocent and didn't deserve even the $50 fine, I went ahead paid the fine to get it over with. I only had a chance to speak for less than two minutes(I recall) before the Judge gave out his rule.
Now I am applying for US Citizenship. Do I have to put a "Yes" for the above metioned question for this. Actually I already decided to put "Yes" and
going to write a explanation about it.
But the application is important. I'd like to
know if it will have any effect on my application. Would it make sense to write a petition to the court to dispute about the citation and the $50 fine ? Actually as long as this can not be considered as a serious crime, I would forget it. I just want to make sure.
Thanks.