Expungement for Iraq veteran

**nemece841** · 06-02-2005, 10:16 AM

I have just returned from Iraq and was discharged honerably a couple of months ago at Fort Bragg, NC. I did not really know what i wanted to do with my life so I enrolled in the Police acedemy. Now that I am all set to graduate I have run into a few snags....

I was convicted in NY state of DWAI which is a violation, but under NC there is no DWAI only misdemeanor DWI, so my conviction in NY is a misdemeanor? Anyways if there any way I can retry the case or expunge the conviction from my record so that I can seek employment in NC as a Police Officer???

Thank you for your time

**aaron** · 06-02-2005, 12:28 PM

"Driving While Ability Impaired" is not a criminal offense in New York, so it should not appear on a criminal background check. It would appear on your driving record.

Quoting New York Consolidated Statutes, Vehicle & Traffic Law

Section 1193. Sanctions. 1. Criminal penalties. (a) Driving while ability impaired. A violation of subdivision one of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article shall be a traffic infraction and shall be punishable by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment in a penitentiary or county jail for not more than fifteen days, or by both such fine and imprisonment. A person who operates a vehicle in violation of such subdivision after having been convicted of a violation of any subdivision of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article within the preceding five years shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars, or by imprisonment of not more than thirty days in a penitentiary or county jail or by both such fine and imprisonment. A person who operates a vehicle in violation of such subdivision after having been convicted two or more times of a violation of any subdivision of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article within the preceding ten years shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by a fine of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars nor more than fifteen hundred dollars, or by imprisonment of not more than one hundred eighty days in a penitentiary or county jail or by both such fine and imprisonment.

**nemece841** · 06-02-2005, 01:00 PM

I agree with you and i guess that is why it is so frustrating. It is a traffic infraction but when they ran my NCIC (national criminal information computer, or center?) my DWAI came up only because i was charged with DWI and the original charge is on my background check. Is there any way to expunge the record of being charged with dwi???

**aaron** · 06-02-2005, 01:21 PM

I am not sure from the New York Expungement statutes whether you would qualify for expungement merely on the basis of the original charge having being resolved as a traffic offense, or if another order (e.g., an order setting aside the conviction on the traffic offense) would be required. You can certainly apply for expungement and see what the court has to say about it; although you may wish to consult a New York attorney first given (a) that you don't want to waste a filing fee, and (b) you are in North Carolina, and it will help to have the assistance of local counsel to assist with proceedings in New York courts.