CPL Question...

For the last two months I was pending trial for fourth degree assault (domestic violence) against my roommate. During my readiness hearing before trial, the case was dismissed for lack of evidence and because the alleged victim wrote to the prosecutor asking for the charges to be dropped. So I was never convicted of the charges. In the letter that I received two months ago upon release from my night stay in jail, the court ordered that I shall not possess a firearm and that this information would be passed along to the local sheriff office. So without the charges, I do not have a criminal conviction of domestic violence. Though, I am wondering if my CPL is still valid or not. They never took it from my wallet and it would seem that my rights should never have been taken away because I was never convicted of anything. Am I right or is my CPL revoked? I know that going to the sheriff's office would be the best way to find out, but I won't be able to do that for a day or two and I'd like some sort of peace of mind now. The order vacating my no contact order states: "All other pre-trial or post-sentence conditions (e.g. no law violations, no alcohol consumption, etc.) shall not be affected by this order. This order does not affect restrictions that may have been ordered by any other jurisdiction or in another cause of action or case." What does that mean? I'm pretty lost on legal talk... Any help would be appreciated.

You don't have to go to the office, just call to see if your permit is active.

I could be wrong but your permit to carry and your order to not hold firearms during that time are two different things. I know someone that can not purchase firearms because the FED's deny them, but they have a permit to carry.

Alright. I wasn't sure if that was information that they would readily give over the telephone. I'll try to call them tomorrow morning after I get off work.

I had an issue at the beginning of this year and called to confirm that my permit was still active.

They told me it was still active, unless I keep disagreeing with Bersa or Metalhead...HAA HAA, I made a funny.

This is one of those circumstances that is like stepping in dog crap. No matter what you do you just can't seem to get it all off of your shoe.

You may have had the charges dropped but will the court's instructions not to posses firearms still linger in the system. You may not be able to get sufficient access to the records to determine this on your own. It might be a good time to spend a few $$ on an attorney to make sure that there's no "dog crap" left on your shoe.

You may need a lawyer...

IANAL - I am not a lawyer

Since the proceedings are over and there was no conviction....

I could definitely see during the case (pending) but now it's all over and the case has been dismissed with no charges...

#5 (below) would be the only issue to resolve - was the court order for not processing a firearm (how long)? Just during the case or longer?



http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/firearms/faconcealreq.html
"You must meet all of the following requirements to get a concealed pistol license:

Be 21 years of age or older at time of application.
Be a United States citizen or a permanent resident alien with permanent resident card or “green card.”
Have no pending trial, appeal, or sentencing on a charge that would prohibit you from having a license.
Have no outstanding warrants for any charge, from any court.
Have no court order or injunction against possessing a firearm.
Have no mental health conditions that would prohibit you from having a license.
Have no felony convictions, or adjudications for a felony offense, in this state or elsewhere. “Felony” means any felony offense under the laws of Washington, or any federal or out-of-state offense comparable to a felony offense under the laws of Washington.
Have no convictions for any of the following crimes committed by one family member against another on or after July 1, 1993:
Assault IV
Coercion
Stalking
Reckless Endangerment
Criminal Trespass in the first degree
Violation of the provisions of a protection order or no-contact order restraining the person or excluding the person from the residence"

Daath 474 said:

SNIP The order vacating my no contact order states: "All other pre-trial or post-sentence conditions (e.g. no law violations, no alcohol consumption, etc.) shall not be affected by this order. This order does not affect restrictions that may have been ordered by any other jurisdiction or in another cause of action or case." What does that mean? I'm pretty lost on legal talk... Any help would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

This is, in a way, CYA language. Many times pre-trial or even post-conviction no contact orders will be lifted before the case is resolved or while the defendant is still on probation. Also, there are often no contact orders entered in dissolution cases that parallel criminal DV no contact orders or there may be multiple orders covering several people. They are just trying to make clear that the order on this particular case has no effect on any other orders that may be out there. As usual, being lawyers trying to make something clear, they failed (I can say that - - IAAL).
So long as this was your only case and you have no other restraining orders I think you are probably fine (how are those for weasel words). IIWY I would get and carry a copy of the order recalling the NCO and/or the order dismissing the case. It would be worth the small extra cost to get them certified.

I went into the sheriff's office the day after posting this to check with them to see if my CPL was still valid. The charges pending for the DV were listed under my name, but the secretary there took a copy of my dismissal and fixed it in the computer so I no longer appear to be held by those court orders. Now my CPL is back to being valid and I couldn't be happier.