And in Michigan, it’s the third conviction that can send you to the state pen. No accidents or injuries required here either.
Sorry for responding to a mod-slapped post, but the general, not personal, aspect to it is interesting. Do elected officials need security clearances?
If I’m a Senator with a checkered past, I can imagine not hearing about current military intelligence or whatnot. What if I’m a SWACP w/seniority and I wrangle myself the Secret-Military-whatever chairmanship? What happens if the SWACP gets elected President? What if some alcoholic with a gambling problem gets elected President?
Surely if the majority of voting Americans elect you president, you get Ultimate USA Security Clearance XP, right? Or is this what all those techno-scifi organizations a la 24, Mission: Impossible, Area 51 from Independence Day, etc are all about? Something so secret they don’t even tell the President…
Texas, also, treats the third DWI (we say “driving while intoxicated” here, not “driving under the influence”) as a felony. Third degree, that is. Two to ten years in the pen, up to $10,000 fine, or both. And we recently (thank GOD) did away with the stupid and confusing “priors must be within ten years” requirement for enhancement, so now ALL past DWI convictions are fair game.
But to actually address the OP: back when I had a security clearance (DOE, if it matters), I knew a couple of people with clearances who had DWI convictions. I don’t think they care much, as long as they’re assured that all that nonsense is well behind you. What they do care about is, as Pleonast said, whether there is something in your past that could be used to blackmail you, and whether you correspond regularly with people outside the country or have any significant foreign connections.
That last one could keep me from getting security clearance. When I was consulting in Japan I made a friend there with whom I still exchange emails and the occasionaly birthday card. And I have at least one friend in the UK that I keep in touch with.
If there’s a possibility of his record being expunged, that means he has a conviction. A conviction is expunged. If the charges were dismissed, that means no conviction and thus no record, and he’s clear (sorry about the pun). I can’t recall if he still has to mention the charges and resultant dismissal on the security clearance application.
I haven’t the full story, I guess. I know he has a hearing in Feb. But I suspect that the case is cut and dried. He was in a motorcycle accident and they took a blood sample.
Thought I’d chime in with my experiences here.
My job in the Navy requires a Secret clearance, and I was initially issued a letter of intent from the Department of the Navy Central Adjudication Facility (DON CAF) stating that they did not intend to grant my clearance.
Although I had a DUI on my record from five years before, the LOI specifically stated that it was not a factor in the decision due to something like “the passage of time and no further incidents of this nature” or something like that. Of course, as other posters have mentioned, the fact that the DUI is more recent in the OPs colleague’s case could probably make a big difference, as there’s no way to be certain there’s no pattern of recidivism.
(Slightly off-topic: My denial was due to erroneous information in my credit report. Although my clearance was eventually granted, I learned a harsh lesson about maintaining accurate financial records and reviewing my credit report periodically.)
Really, I am shocked that the Navy would consider a Credit Report to be reliable enough to deny a clearance as Credit reports are notorious for being unreliable. I use something like a Credit report in my investigations, and although this company is better, if our only source of a peice of information is said company, we notate that in our reports.
Dudes- you NEED to check your Credit reports every year or so, and also a couple months before you are thinking of a major loan. If you don’t there is a high chance that a significantly wrong- and derogatory- item will have crept on there. Besides the higher interest rates- this could cost you a job, higher insurance rates, be denied housing and so forth.
It’s easy for bad shit to creep into your Credit Report: very old debt gets re-reported, someone uses your SSN, a relative with a very similar name gets his stuff on your report, the credit company just screws up. Or it could even be semi-legit: after you move out, you owed a few bucks to the Utility company. You never get a bill, it goes “to collections” and BAM, a big fat Derog. I had this happen with a small Medical bill- I had insurance, they knew I had insurance, but somehow that bill never got billed to my insurance co. Next thing you know, I got a call from a Collection Agency! True, I ignored the bill the Medical co sent me, but it was common for them to send me a bill if their “cycle” had my bill due to be sent out before they were due to bill the insurance co.
Really, this reliance on Credit Reports is getting to be a HUGE fucking problem. What we need is a law where the Credit reporting agency must inform you whenever any Derogs are input on your Credit History.
Then he doesn’t have a conviction yet. It’s an open case. When he has the hearing, then he’s either exonerated or convicted (either found guilty or pleads guilty). The judge will then sentence him.
Did your friend already tell the investigators or state on his application that he’s never had trouble with the law? If so, he can call them now what the real deal is and possibly not get denied.
I don’t know if that meets the criteria for “close and continuing contact” or not. But Japan and the UK are allies so you may be OK either way. If your friends were North Korean and Ukrainian, you would have a bigger problem.
He has not completed the application and I have chosen to allow it to expire rather than risk getting denied.
The key is if you’re keeping stuff secret from the investigators. They’ll no doubt find out and then you’re shafted. Be open and honest and you won’t have a problem. You might not get the clearance but that’s better than getting it and then having it taken away and facing prosecution (which probably won’t ensue after loss of clearance) and losing your job.