Cannot Enlist Due to Domestic Violence Charge

[Steven02114]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: New Hampshire

I was arrested in NH for damaging my ex girls car. I pled guilty to criminal mischief and had to pay restitution and be in good behavior for 2 years. I did both.
Just recently I applied to the Navy. I was denied because of a domestic violence charge. No one from court ever said anything about me also being charged with domestic violence...it never came up once! How can I be charged with something I wasnt notified of? It was my 1st offense too. I havent been in trouble with the law since. I just want to serve my country... im a person of good moral character, i should be able to.

[lurkertom]

Was the DV charge related to the Criminal Mischief? Apparently the background screening found something that you either forgot about or you were unaware that it was not all resolved. You may need to go back to the court and find out what is going on with your case.

[flyingron]

There are a dozen or so charges in NH that can be branded DV. You should have never pled guilty to this one. You are barred from firearms possession and the military will NOT take you.

There's no "Right to Fight" (or even to enlist). The military has the discretion to be as selective as they want.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You would have been notified of the charges on any charging document, the court notice for your charges, at the arraignment....

You can go to the courthouse and check the court records for your case to verify the charges, both as originally filed or amended and in relation to your conviction charge (or, if by "good behavior for 2 years" you mean that you received a deferred sentence, the charge that was deferred following your plea agreement).

If there was an error abstracting the charge, such that the state criminal record is incorrect, there will be a procedure by which you can have the charge corrected.

[aardvarc]

I was arrested in NH for damaging my ex girls car. I pled guilty to criminal mischief and had to pay restitution and be in good behavior for 2 years. I did both. Just recently I applied to the Navy. I was denied because of a domestic violence charge. No one from court ever said anything about me also being charged with domestic violence...it never came up once!

You'd need to check the exact statute that you pled under. DV isn't a specific charge in NH. Instead, a very wide range of crimes can constitute a DV case, the key being that the victim in the case being a current or former intimate partner. Thus, criminal mischief or destruction of property (such as under RSA 634,1 and 2) become domestic violence related charges because of the nature of your relationship to the victim. They wouldn't read out a separate DV charge.

How can I be charged with something I wasnt notified of?

We weren't in court to hear the actual charge or plea, so we can't answer that. What did your attorney say?

im a person of good moral character

Who pled guilty to a criminal charge of damaging your ex's car. Not sure that jives.

i should be able to.

Gonna hafta write to your congressman on that one. Federal law says that persons convicted of crimes of domestic violence can't possess firearms. Hard to be in the military under those circumstances. Best course of action is to get in touch with the attorney who handled your criminal case, and find out if in fact the charge that is showing in the records is the actual charge, and not a lesser charge or corrected charge that should have been entered as part of any plea bargain. If there was no plea bargain and you simply pled guilty as charged, you may be out of luck.

[Steven02114]

I didnt think i needed an attorney because its a class A misdeminor. I knew id have to pay a fine and i was okay with that. What i didnt know is in NH criminal mischief is considered being DV since i lived with my ex at the time. Its still retarded how no one told me, and btw DV is not on any of the court papers...so how was i to know?

My point is exactly that... i pled to something i didnt know about. Had i known of the underlying DV charge i would have never pled guilty

[viol8te]

Don't use retarded. That's not a term to throw out loosely. One could say it's retarded to sign documents without knowing what all the punishment entails. It's a matter of not thoroughly investigating the consequences, it's not retarded.

Anyway, most states that I deal with concerning domestics do it in a similar fashion. If your complainant is of a domestic capacity, the case is heard in a DV court. There doesn't have to be physical violence committed. As long as the victim falls under the umbrella of being of a domestic relationship, the outcome that you've received can happen.

If it's a supervision case, you may be eligible for expungement. Check with your local clerks office.

[aardvarc]

That's why we tell people until we are blue in the face: if you are charged with a crime, you NEED an attorney. Just because you THINK you know what's going on doesn't mean you do, and if you are wrong, there are potential life altering consequences, just like in this case.

Never plead to ANYTHING without consulting counsel.

[Steven02114]

Ive never been in trouble before this, so i never had people telling me how I should prepare for court..etc. Sure id know to have one if its a serious crime, but i thought this was just a bad decision that got me restitution fees. I cant believe its okay for them to say im charged with criminal mischief, but leave out that it falls under DV. I guess THATS why u need an attorney no matter what it is

[viol8te]

That's exactly why. From the court's position, you should've known. From your position, they should have told you. But the reality is, whose responsibility is it to know how something will ompact your life? You need to know what the outcome will be before you sign off on anything.