IACRA application, drug conviction question.

[dyeguy45]

Hello, i just completed my remote pilot knowledge test. In the application it asks if you have any prior drug convictions. When i was a minor i pleaded no contest to possession w/ intent to deliver. I was put on 6 months under advisement, i fulfilled my obligations of the under advisement. With that being said the charges are not on my record and sealed, but can be reopened up until i turn 27 in a year.

I don't believe this affects me with the IACRA application and that i should put down a no for drug convictions. I want to be above the board though and make sure i don't have to put it on my application. Also i'd like to know since i'm debating on going to school to get my pilots license in the future.

 

[MauleSkinner]

I would say that the question isn't about "unsealed drug convictions", it's about "drug convictions".

But I'm not with the FAA, and didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Any answer you get other than from a lawyer who has reviewed your court record, your state's criminal laws, and understands the FAA's policies is completely unreliable.

The risk of saying "no" and being wrong is the FAA finding out and revoking all your certificates and ratings.

 

[dyeguy45]

I looked into the charges more since i fulfilled my obligations under advisement, the charges have been dismissed. I was not sure if they were sealed or dismissed since it was so long ago. Posting just in case anyone else needs to find similar information.

"It is most commonly seen in Michigan with drug offenses where the plea is taken under public act 7411. The court takes your admission of guilt under advisement, then puts you on probation. If you complete probation, then the case is dismissed and you have no record or conviction." Though now a days in Michigan it seems as though they no longer another lawyer stated "Most if not all courts in Michigan no longer do "pleas under advisement."" luckily this was 10 years, before they no longer accepted the plea of "under advisement."

 

[SkyDog58]

Sounds more like a pretrial diversion which to my limited non-legal-professional opinion does not result in a conviction. Just be sure of the facts before you answer the question. Seek out an attorney if necessary.

 

[bflynn]

"Sealed" has little meaning to federal investigative services. The fact is, once upon a time something happened and records were made. Those records still exist in a database somewhere and may have even been copied to other places that "sealed" doesn't know about.

The worry is not that you screwed up in the past, we have all screwed up. It's that you 1) aren't just hiding it better and looking for other avenues to distribute, 2) learned your lessons and know not to do it again and 3) have the integrity to admit when you've made a mistake. You will make mistakes as a pilot. You have to be able to honestly learn from them. If you can't, then forget about the FAA, _I_ don't want you flying either.

Talk to a lawyer. Your answers on this form are legal statements and if it is discovered later that you lied about it, that is grounds for permanent revocation.

Consider that you also just posted this on a public BBS. It's on the Internet now and that is forever.

 

[flyingron]

The question is whether you were convicted (or in many juvenile cases "adjudicated"). If, as SkyDog supposed this was some sort of pre-conviction diversion, then you don't have a conviction to report. However, I'd look carefully at the questions on the medical.

If you were convicted/adjudictated then I suspect you do need to report it, expunged, sealed, or even pardonned in some states.

 

[NoHeat]

Sounds more like a pretrial diversion which to my limited non-legal-professional opinion does not result in a conviction. Just be sure of the facts before you answer the question. Seek out an attorney if necessary.

This sounds right to me, also as a non-legal-professional.

Apart from your goal of seeking a pilot and medical certificate, I think that for your other future goals as well it would be worth consulting with a criminal-defense attorney, just to know exactly how things stand, and how you should answer questions on various public and private forms.

 

[PPC1052]

Another problem is the "have you ever been arrested" question. Even if you weren't "convicted," can you honestly say you were never arrested?