Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

First Offender Act

In 1978 I was given deferred adjudication under Georgia's First Offender Act, for Felony Theft By Taking. I paid $300 restitution, $500 fine and 2 years probation (all sucsessfully completed). I find no public record in databases such as PublicData.com, or in the Cobb County or State of Georgia websites. A check of the pardon application form for the state of Georgia indicates that no application for pardon is necessary for cases adjudicated under the FOA. My question is: would there be a record in NICS for a firearms purchase, and in an application for a Concealed Handgun License in Texas, I know I have to list the arrest, but how should I answer the question of status?. The Texas law says I can answer ''no'' to the question of conviction if the record is pardoned or expunged (ref- http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=R&app=9&p_dir=&p_rloc=&p_tloc=&p_ploc=&pg=1&p_tac=&ti=37&pt=1&ch=6&rl=1). The application gives options like ''pardoned'', ''accquited'' ''not guilty'', but does not list ''expunged''. Any advice would be appreciated.


Asked on 5/06/05, 12:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Phillip A. Strickland Law Offices

Re: First Offender Act

Since you completed the terms of the 1st Offender Act successfully, there will be no record of any adjudication of the charge. Therefore, there is no loss of any civil liberty related to a felony conviction. Your arrest record, however, typically is not likewise sealed and would be available to the police. But an arrest is just an arrest.

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Answered on 5/06/05, 1:34 am


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