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Old 09-25-2008, 07:36 PM
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Officer GCM conviction felony/misdemeanor?


What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA

Hello,

My question is for someone that has experience with an commissioned officer convicted by means of a general court martial. Obviously, officer's can only be tried by GCM even if the charges are minor. I would like to know if anyone has had any experience with what the civilian record would show. For example, what would an officer convicted of article 86(UA/AWOL) and article 112a(cocaine use/failing urinalysis) see on his record. It seems that the the GCM would be a felony although the charges seem like a misdemeanor at most. Any ideas on this? Every JAG officer I have spoken to has no clue and basically says it is up to the state but would be surprised if it was a felony.

Thanks.
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Old 09-26-2008, 12:15 AM
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How a record is interpreted is up to the jurisdiction doing the interpreting. State laws are "all over the place" with regards to determining when/if an out of state conviction should be counted as a felony. Even within a state, the rules can differ depending, for example, if the previous conviction is being used for sentencing enhancement, licensing, etc.

Many follow an old common law rule that if you could have been sentenced to more than one year in prison at trial, then it is a felony. What you actually got is not important, rather it is a question of what the maximum potential was.

Others will ask "Would those actions be a felony in this jurisdiction"? Sometimes they'll just look at the title of the crime, other times they'll look into the details of the act itself.

Another twist in some court-martial cases is whether or not your crimes were "military" crimes - meaning things that really don't have civilian equivalents in most criminal codes. For example, "unauthorized absence" may not be considered a felony (or maybe even a conviction) simply because it does not appear in state statutes.

So, even in the state of Virginia, your convictions could be 'treated' differently depending on which agencies you are dealing with or what use the record is being put to. There is no simple general answer.
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Old 09-26-2008, 06:37 PM
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Thank you.
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