Q: Class C felony forgery keeping me from enlistment of military
When I was 19 I got convicted for class C felony for forgery and the state of Arkansas is the one that picked up the charges when the owner dropped the charges. I was in the National Guard at the time and the guard said they couldn't do anything about it it has now been six years later and I've done five years of Probation and I was under act 346 to get my record expunged but now I'm asking to see if I can get my record reopened and have the charges completely dropped it and if not then have the charge dropped to a misdemeanor so I can reenlist. Before entering the plea of guilty I got stuck with a public defender but when I went to speak to an attorney I was told it was considered a wobbler charge and was looking at it being able to be dropped down to a misdemeanor but at the time I did not have the expenses to be able to do so. What can I do so that I can rejoin the military? How would I go about getting a pardon from the governor?
A:
If you get a pardon from the governor you might be able to reenlist, otherwise you would need to do a writ of error coram nobis because it has been so long.
A writ of error coram nobis is available for addressing certain errors that are found in one of four categories:
(1) insanity at the time of trial,
(2) a coerced guilty plea,
(3) material evidence withheld by the
prosecutor (or other government actor), or (4) a third-party confession to the crime during the time between conviction
and appeal.
1 user found this answer helpful
A: I should add getting a pardon from the governor isn't particularly difficult.
1 user found this answer helpful
A: Depending on your age now, the Court where the case occurred, and the particulars, it looks like you can have your charges expunged. It is very unlikely you will be able to have the charges reduced. Just get them expunged. We do it all the time. Costs vary from $1500 to $3000. Once the felonies are gone, you should be able to re-enlist. Recruiters do this a lot.
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