NJ/Army-Juvenile Answering: "Involved in Crime?"

[insight08]

State of New Jersey.

I am a 21 year old college student going into the military. I have a criminal background from when I was younger, the last offense being January 2003, which included probation.

I was advised by a lawyer that if I am answering the question "Have you ever been involved in a crime?", I could legally answer "No" because according to him, a Juvenile isnt involved in crimes, they are involved in Juvenile Deliquencies.

I am looking for the Statute or place I could read more about this law to have a better understanding of it.

The reason why this question is a concern to me is because I am applying for the Military. Mandatory checks are done for all the main branches, but not for the National Guard. From what my recruiter informed me was that I can legally answer the question "No, I have not" and he stated that the Statutes of Limitations states this, but a recruiter is also a sales man

I am also considering expunging my record, but I understand I have some more time to go as I supposely need to wait 5 years before I can. I also wonder if I can legal say "No I was not involved in a crime" to the military even if I do get my record Expunged.

My other consideration is just saying "No" because i wasnt involved in crimes. Supposely New Jersey being a sealed state has some type of impact on this loophole.

Any information you can provide, I would greatly appreicate. I also wouldnt mind reading for myself, Im just not sure where to look.

Thanks in advance!

 

[insight08]

I apologize, its a large dream and Im not giving this one up. Ive gotten moved from branch to branch of the military and not formally rejected because people saw I was serious about this.

Semantics is what i mean. Id like to protect my rights as a united states citizen who is indeed in the pursuit of happiness.

I will be honest in respect to my rights as a citizen of US, I can assure you I havent lied yet and this is the cause of this frustration in my words!

Anything anyone could recommend would greatly be appreciated concerning my questions in my original post, trust me I am doing everything I can to be moral so I would like to continue to be. My recruiters hate me for it

 

[geoffc2]

Good News Bad News

All services have what is known as an ECM or Enlistment Criteria Manual. This document will outline your specifics and how they must go about to enlist you. As you were somewhat reticent to be exact in your charges, I can not help you with specifics. What I can say is forget about the semantics. The SF 86 that is used by all services to establish your initial security profile ask the questions in such a manner as to leave no doubt.. The only two choices are to lie or tell the truth. I will tell you that many recruiters are under pressure and want you to make it easier on them. Simply ask the recruiter if you are eligible given your history in accordance with the ECM. If not, then you can try back next year. If you want a more specific answer I would be happy to oblige given the particulars