Legal Question in Criminal Law in Nebraska

Re: Felony Theft by Deception and background checks

If by "taking responsibility for it" you mean that you plead guilty, there are few options available. Guilty pleas can be overturned only for a very few reasons, once the time for appeal has run out. (generally 30 days after sentencing.)

If you can show that your plea was involuntary because you were forced to plead by threats of physical force, mental illness, a court will often allow you to withdraw your plea of guilty. A court may also allow withdrawal of a guilty plea if the prosecutor breached a plea agreement, if you did not understand and intelligently waive your constitutional rights before entering a plea, or if there is such a complete failure of proof by the state's proffered factual basis for the plea that there is no evidence of a crime being committed.

If you went to trial, but decided not to present evidence that your husband was in fact the person who committed the crime, you are basically stuck with that decision and its consequences. There are some exceptions, but they are too technical to explain in a bulletin board answer.

I do not know if the advice your public defender gave you regarding your children being placed in foster care is correct, I would think that there may have been other options. But she had access to more information than I do here, and so I can't say she was wrong.

Since you are not incarcerated, habeas corpus and a postconviction action would seem to be precluded. Your best chance may be to seek a pardon from the Board of Pardons. Generally, they do not grant applications for pardons until five years have passed since the conviction, but this is a rule of thumb, not a legal requirement.

You should consult an experienced criminal law attorney and discuss the details with them to have a more definite answer. Even if the conviction cannot be overturned, or a pardon obtained, there may other ways to minimize the damage done. There are many people with felony convictions that go on to great success, don't lose heart. Tim Allen [Tim The Toolman Taylor]had a drug dealing conviction years ago before any of his success as a comedian, and he turned his life around. Now he's loved by millions, and sitting pretty. You can get past this too.

Good luck.

Bill Jones