Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 7/17/2009

Question
I live in the state of Arizona where they have harsh punishment for drug crimes. I am not a pot head.  i do not have an addictive personality but i have been stupid in college.  I have only smoked pot about 10-20 times most of that was freshman year.  However last November my friend brought over some pot to my house.  We smoked and one of my neighbors called the police on me.  They took me down to the station because it was in my house. i got fingerprinted and released with a citation.  Because i have no prior conviction they gave me what is known as Pre-filing diversion.  I asked a lawyer about it and he said that It is a program they give before the paperwork has been filed with the court.  If you pass the program the charges never get filed and there is no record of it.  I have passed the program and am currently looking into applying for Navy OCS.  I plan to disclose the information above to my recruiter when i meet with him next week. I will never do drugs again.  It was one of those experiences that set you straight.  I will be graduating in December with a 3.5 GPA with a BS in Political science.  In addition to that i can get letters of recommendation from various state senators and representatives that my family has been in contact with over the years.  I have very high goals set for myself and am a very driven person but like i said.  I did a couple stupid things in college experimenting.  That part of my life is in the past now and I would really like to serve.  On paper i am a very qualified candidate both academically and physically. it is just that one mishap back in November. What are my chances, if any? My little brother also serves in the marines currently if that helps.

Answer
Ed,
I thought the 4th Ammendment to the Constitution prevented that.

Anyway,
Arizona is one of a few states that routinely use a pre-filing diversion to reduce the backlog of court cases.  Prior to a guilty plea or trial your prosecution may be delayed because you were a  first-time or low-level offender to give you a chance to avoid further involvement with the courts.  However, you still face the possibility of a later prosecution.  It's like being on probation.

Even though a pre-filing diversion is not a conviction, law enforcement agencies and the military treat it as if it were a conviction.  You must remember that a very important record will remain in existence and can be seen by the investigating agencies for the rest of your life.  This record is the ORIGINAL ARREST RECORD which contains the arresting officers notes, reports, photographs, confessions, or any other evidence seized or testimony taken during an arrest.  Even though it is NOT a conviction, and even though your charges have been dismissed, you're usually treated as if you had actually been convicted.

DO NOT meet with a Navy recruiter next week.  It may be possible for you to obtain a waiver for this incident, but it would behoove you to wait a few months.

The Navy is pretty much on track with meeting their quotas so recruiters are taking the easy "no-problem" recruits and are reluctant to process waivers.  Wait until October 1st.  That's because all the recruiters get their new quotas for 2010 on October 1st.  You want to be first in line so you know for sure the Recruiter hasn't possibly reached his quota yet.

Get your 3 letters of reference ready so you'll be ready to apply for a waiver.  The recruiter will walk you through the necessary steps to apply for a waiver and for entry into OCS.

I think you'll be OK if you'll just be patient a bit longer.  We want to stack the deck in your favor to ensure you get in.  Meanwhile, start thinking about what career field you would like in the Navy.  Go to http://www.navy.com/careers/#officer-jobs and see what interests you.  Officers have a choice, enlisted get assigned to a career field.  You'll need to decide before you go to OCS if you don't already have a choice.  If you're undecided, Surface Warfare is considered the "Real Navy" and everybody else supports them.
Good luck.  Let me know sometime how it all works out for you.  I like to hear success stories, and I'm sure yours will be.
Colonel H