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Over 10 years ago I was arrested and court martialed for distribution of a controlled substance while serving overseas. I was acquitted during the courts-martial.
Later, another soldier ended up accepting a bad conduct discharge for the offense since the evidence in my courts-martial pointed towards him.
I subsequently re-enlisted and was promoted, but I think the record of my arrest is still out there.
Is there anything I can do to get rid of this? I understand if I had been convicted, I could have got the record changed, but since I was acquitted there is nothing I can do.
That is the only time I have been arrested in my life.
The fact you were found innocent of the charges goes in your favor. You were not convicted or served time. If anyone stumbles on this they will see that you were arrested but not convicted. Probably nothing can be done about making the arrest go away after 10 years. You did re-enlist and got promoted since the incident so that tells me that they don't seem to be too concerned about this and you should just forget about it.
I agree but if you're worried about it there's tons of places on the internet that will perform a background check for a small fee. Have one done and see what comes up.
Unfortunately, its a pain to have to explain to questions like "have you ever been arrested?", which is pretty common for job applications, loan applications, special licenses, etc.
And civilians are generally unforgiving even though I was acquitted. The word "cours-martial" has a special stigma to it.
Is there anyway to expunge a federal arrest record for arrests that end in acquittal?
I would like to be able to just answer "No" on forms than to explain the circumstances.
Most places that I've applied to don't ask if you'be been arresed, most will ask if you've been convicted...for you the answer would be no.
If you are applying for any type of civialian professional position after you leave the military you can expect that a background check and drug test will be done. I work in IT and every company that I've worked for since 2000 has done one or both, most have done both.
You don't have to explain a court martial since you were not, you were found not guilty, just like a trial where you are found not guilty, so you were not court martial'ed either, you had a hearing but was found not guilty.
As for as your military record, it will show the proof, and have no effect what so ever
My ex-boyfriend was in the Air Force. He received 1 Article 15 while he was stationed in Amsterdam, and 3 weeks later he received another Article 15 while stationed in Las Vegas. He was kicked out of the Air Force for a pattern of misconduct and they gave him a general under honorable discharge. They said this would stay on his permanent record.
He ended up filing for a hearing and going in front of the military board of review, which is a board that consists of 6 Generals. They hear the case from the beginning to the end and they ultimately decide the fate. They reversed his general under honorable and gave him an honorable. They may be able to assist you regarding the circumstances of your case and find out whether the record exists, if it does, they can decide whether or not it should be expunged.
The problem I see with your case is that it has already been expunged. Therefore I do not see the point in bringing attention to the matter. If it cannot be located via background check, I would leave it be.
Still, I know there is no better feeling that knowing the records have been expunged and having them handed back to you. I guess it wouldn't hurt to check with the military board of review, but like I said, make sure it is going to help you first.
Thanks Fr_Chuck. So do you think I don't have to answer when I asked if I have been arrested before? An attorney told me to answer "not in this country" if asked, which seemed kind of like a joke.
Like most military members who get in trouble, I don't think I was ever actually arrested, just questioned and later charged then acquitted. I don't think the other guy even had any kind of trial or hearing, he was just discharged.
I don't know what constitutes arrest, perhaps you do.
Thanks wnk_1001, I'll look into that. I know there was a provision related to expunging federal records for minor drug related convictions for young people. However, I don't thing there is anything for acquittals. Are records for acquittals automatically expunged?
I really appreciate all the feedback from everyone.
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