Expert: Aaron Shifferly - 3/31/2009

Question
I was involved in a criminal case 18 years ago where my wife (at the time) had me arrested for battery. The final disposition of the case was "stricken off - leave reinstated" which means that the case was dismissed (with no conviction) with the option to refile the case within a certain amount, but not more then 120 days. When I go through this process, how will this affect me at MEPS?

Answer
Nathan:
As long as you were not convicted you are not subject to the Lautenberg Amendment, which prohibits personnel convicted of domestic abuse from possessing firearms.  Be honest with them when they ask you about arrests, but you should be ok without the conviction.  Jobs requiring security clearances may be more stringent with their questioning of the situation and circumstances surrounding your arrest, but if it was all dismissed you should still be ok. Hope this helps.

Aaron