Legal Question in Criminal Law in Indiana

i was 17 years old and i was arrested. i think i had a felony conviction but since then i have served 11 years in the marine corps and i have 3 combat tours since i have enlisted. i have been awarded the navy and marine corps achievement medadl presidential unit citation a navy unit citation and a combat action ribbon, i am also pending a purple heart. my question is after everything i have done could i still be eligible for law enforcement. i would like to pursue a career as a swat officer or maybe go into federal law enforcement.


Asked on 4/18/10, 9:45 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jorge GEORGE Rodriguez Law Offices of Jorge "George" Rodriguez

If your matter stayed in juvenile court then you were never convicted of anything. Instead you were found to have committed a delinquent act; an act that would have been a crime if you were an adult. You therefore were never convicted but rather adjudicated to be a delinquent child. Under Indiana law IC 31-32-2-6 Adjudications [are] not considered [a] criminal conviction and [no] civil disability [is] imposed. A child may not be considered a criminal as the result of an adjudication in a juvenile court, nor may an adjudication in juvenile court be considered a conviction of a crime and an adjudication in juvenile court does not impose any civil disability imposed by conviction of a crime. However you may still need to report the incident when applying for certain law enforcement positions. Lastly you can petition the juvenile court to seal and expunge your juvenile record to further limit access to that information.

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Answered on 4/30/10, 7:56 am


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