What exactly is an adjudication? My understanding of it is that the defendent, in this case me, says that while yes there is enough evidence to prove that the alleged incident may have happened, there is no way that I will ever say this.
So, am I anywhere near the “truth?”
I’m asking because I was arrested and charged with a misdmeanor count and thanks to a really good criminal lawyer, we plea bargained and got an adjudication.
However, I am looking at a job program that involves a certification exam and I have read that I can be rejected for certification simply because I was “charged” with a misdemeanor, never mind being guilty or innocent.
So, does an adjudication lean more to the guilty or more to the innocent side of things? I can give more details if wanted, but would rather do so privately thru email rather than out on the board for all of my fellow Dopers to see.
Not that I don’t love you all dearly, but ya know.
Depends on jurisdiction, of course, but IMHO it tends towards guilt. In Texas state court it is a plea of nolo contendere (no contest). In Federal Court it is called an “Alford” plea.
I am not certain of this but my understanding is that a nolo plea is inadmissible in a subsequent civil proceeding, but other than that, it’s basically an admission of guilt.
Now, the question of whether you want to disclose it (assuming it’s not an application to go work for the FBI or otherwise subject to penalties for falsification) is a moral issue but – and this is JUST AN EDUCATED GUESS – my off the cuff response would be that if you are going to play it straight, you answer “yes.”
BUT DON’T DO IT JUST BECAUSE OF ME! IT DEPENDS ON THE JURISDICTION! (At least! I could be just plain wrong, too . . . )
Well my current job asked me the same thing and I lied through my teeth and said No, I have not been charged with anything more than a traffic ticket. Nothing has come of it and I have been here for 4 years. I got deferred adjudication, which is not supposed to go on your record, but everytime I get pulled over the damn cops seem to know what I got busted for and search my car. It was a Class C misdemeanor if this helps any.
I don’t know what an “adjudication” is; that will be dependant on your state law. In common practice the word simply means any decision rendered by an appropriate tribunal (“the adjudication of disputes”). Any more technical or precise meaning will be as defined by your jurisdiction.
It is a bad idea for employers to ask about being charged rather than found guilty, since that can open them up to charges of discriminatory practices.
It is a very bad idea to lie on your employment application. While many people do, they only get away with it if the employer is remiss about checking. Sadly enough, this is fairly common – even people lying about credentials (remember the football coach in the last year or two?)
If the lie is discovered, even many years later, it is usually grounds for instant dismissal.
Cliffy – Just for future reference, what is the difference? I always thought the Alford plea was the functional equivalent of a Nolo – you do not plead guilty, but you concede that the government has sufficient evidence to convict you.
JohnW77707, Esq.
With a nolo, you don’t concede anything at all. You just choose not to fight. (It’s a technical difference more than a practical one. But then again, in almost every situation the difference between a plea of guilty and a nolo or Alford plea is similarly technical.)
Hopefully someone will come along with a REAL answer. In my case the DA told me that because my case was adjudicated that it wouldn’t show up on my record. A subsequent ‘incident’ later in life seemed to validate what he said. My first case was before computers were a big thing, my second was in the last few years so I am not sure if that has any bearing on the results.