Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Foreign conviction/American also?

My daughter and fiancee were forced to plead guilty to a charge of narco trafficking in Colombia,by a Colombian judge.They are presently serving a sentence there.When they are finally released and able to return to the USA,will they be subject to any American laws or penalties reagrding the case?There is no such thing as felonies in Colombia.Will

they have a record here?Or be on a DEA watch list? Will they be able to answer''No'' on any application thats asks about prior felonies?Will my daughter be able to pursue a career in criminal justice?Would it be unethical not to devulge her past history?


Asked on 3/09/06, 1:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jay Hochberg

Re: Foreign conviction/American also?

They will not be facing penalties when they return to the U.S. due to the Columbian conviction. They will not have a "record" in the U.S., although a federal investigator might be able to turn up the Columbian conviction if he looked hard enough. Individual law enforcement agencies have their own rules about what sort of prior disqualifies someone from being an employee.

It would clearly be unethical not to divulge this conviction, because lying is inherently unethical. Whether or not it would be unlawful depends on the facts and circumstances of the particular situation.

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Answered on 3/09/06, 1:51 pm


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