Q: Can a prior off my record charge when I was in foster care enhance current charge? Both same charge just 8 years apart
At 12 years old I was in foster care when I got the first charge and it was suppose to be off my record
A:
I'm assuming the charge was Assault since this question is marked "domestic violence" and Assault is one where the level of the offense can be raised by a previous conviction. For example, the offense named "Assault Causing Bodily Injury - Family Violence" is a class A misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of 1 year in county jail or 2 years probation. However, if the defendant has a previous conviction it can be filed as a third degree felony, punishable by up to 10 years in the state penitentiary.
If the defendant was only 12 years old at the time of the first Assault then it is likely he or she was actually "adjudicated delinquent" as a juvenile rather than "convicted" as a adult. Juvenile adjudications do not automatically disappear off a defendant's record. Some charges can never be removed and others can be sealed or destroyed (expunged) when you turn 21, but you must take affirmative steps to make that happen.
A prosecutor considering the case of a 20 year-old defendant will absolutely be influenced by a juvenile adjudication for the same crime, even if the prior is not used to enhance the level of the offense.
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