Felony Charge

[Stephen Smith]

Good Afternoon,
My nephew had been charged with Agg. Assault w/ deadly weapon. He is not guilty but the court process has been ongoing for over a year. He has received an airport badge and passed the background check after providing court documents. Question is will the 135 operator go beyond the airport badging background check and have an issue with this unresolved case?

 

[gotWXdagain]

Not guilty as you know it or not guilty as adjudicated by the court?

 

[Stephen Smith]

Not guilty as you know it or not guilty as adjudicated by the court?

He's not yet proven guilty.

 

[gotWXdagain]

I would then say most certainly there would be a problem. In the interview they would likely ask about these kinds of situations and if he doesn't provide the info, he'd be lying and if he does, h it's unlikely he'll be hired.

 

[MidlifeFlyer]

Since the court documents and the info were provided for the security check, I think your question comes down to "if the airport security folks didn't care, will the 135 operator?" If that's the case, it's entirely up to the 135 operator. That's more of a question for pilots flying professionally than for lawyers, but the answer is, probably yes. Don't know what business you are in but would you or your employer hire someone with serious pending felony charge if there were other qualified candidates available?

Since I know nothing about your nephew's case, take this FWIW (not much): You mention the case has been pending for more than a year. Has your nephew spoken with his attorney about his career plans, the need to resolve this matter and the potential effects on his career? That doesn't mean I think it should be pushed - there may be many reasons why it should not be. Just that the attorney-client discussion should be taking place on the subject and it sometimes doesn't.

Semi-related illustration. I received a call from a pilot friend who was facing a misdemeanor reckless driving charge. My friend's lawyer and the deputy DA worked out a very good deal - except for the fact my friend was a career pilot. At my friend's request I spoke with my friend's attorney. The result was a "worse" deal from my friend's lawyer's perspective, a "harsher" deal from the DA's perspective (the DA was happy to go along with it). And a much better deal from my friend's employment perspective.

 

[killbilly]

The result was a "worse" deal from my friend's lawyer's perspective, a "harsher" deal from the DA's perspective (the DA was happy to go along with it). And a much better deal from my friend's employment perspective.

I'm having a hard time parsing this. Are you outside of ethical realms to clarify this further? 'Cos I'd sure appreciate it.

I *think* what you're saying is that you guys negotiated a charge/plea that - overall, would be harsher in general, but a plea/charge that is less detrimental to a pilot's career. Is that about right?

 

[MidlifeFlyer]

I'm having a hard time parsing this. Are you outside of ethical realms to clarify this further? 'Cos I'd sure appreciate it.

I *think* what you're saying is that you guys negotiated a charge/plea that - overall, would be harsher in general, but a plea/charge that is less detrimental to a pilot's career. Is that about right?

That's about right. No problem clarifying further. But it was about 20 years ago, so this may not be exact.

The original deal was a guilty plea to a misdemeanor with no costs assessed. The deal my friend's attorney ultimately proposed was a plea of responsible to a non-criminal traffic offense with an agreed money penalty. From my experience, a lot of folks would have preferred the misdemeanor with no money than the non-offense with money. In fact the DA was surprised when my friend's lawyer proposed it. But it was more important to my friend to have a clean criminal record and was willing to exchange money for that.

 

[Stephen Smith]

Since the court documents and the info were provided for the security check, I think your question comes down to "if the airport security folks didn't care, will the 135 operator?" If that's the case, it's entirely up to the 135 operator. That's more of a question for pilots flying professionally than for lawyers, but the answer is, probably yes. Don't know what business you are in but would you or your employer hire someone with serious pending felony charge if there were other qualified candidates available?

Since I know nothing about your nephew's case, take this FWIW (not much): You mention the case has been pending for more than a year. Has your nephew spoken with his attorney about his career plans, the need to resolve this matter and the potential effects on his career? That doesn't mean I think it should be pushed - there may be many reasons why it should not be. Just that the attorney-client discussion should be taking place on the subject and it sometimes doesn't.

Semi-related illustration. I received a call from a pilot friend who was facing a misdemeanor reckless driving charge. My friend's lawyer and the deputy DA worked out a very good deal - except for the fact my friend was a career pilot. At my friend's request I spoke with my friend's attorney. The result was a "worse" deal from my friend's lawyer's perspective, a "harsher" deal from the DA's perspective (the DA was happy to go along with it). And a much better deal from my friend's employment perspective.

Thanks for the reply!

 

[BEEF SUPREME]

That's about right. No problem clarifying further. But it was about 20 years ago, so this may not be exact.

The original deal was a guilty plea to a misdemeanor with no costs assessed. The deal my friend's attorney ultimately proposed was a plea of responsible to a non-criminal traffic offense with an agreed money penalty. From my experience, a lot of folks would have preferred the misdemeanor with no money than the non-offense with money. In fact the DA was surprised when my friend's lawyer proposed it. But it was more important to my friend to have a clean criminal record and was willing to exchange money for that.

*edit*
Come on, man.

 

[Vector]

QUOTE]
You broke the spirit of the law if you know what I mean!