So back in '08 or '09, one of my lifelong friends (basically my little brother) was down in Miami partying one night in college, and he got caught with a personal use quantity of coke.
He was charged with 3rd degree felony possession of cocaine (possession of any quantity of cocaine is a felony charge in FL).
He was never actually convicted of the charge. He ended up spending a fortune on lawyers and jumped through a ton of hoops, was on probation for at least a year, court ordered drug tests & counselling, etc etc etc.
Long story short, however they set it up, upon successful completion of all of this (which he did) he was home free without a conviction.
He said it was dismissed, but i'm wondering if it was continued without a finding. I don't know how that would work, not a lawyer.
So, fast forward 8 years, he is having issues with pest animals so he went to a big box store and attempted to purchase a Ruger 10/22. They ran his name, and denied him the purchase.
I used the software my company uses for hiring (just basic stuff) and ran his name. It shows that he was charged, but it does not show any info about the outcome of the case.
His lawyer repeatedly assured him that after he did the drug programs, his record would be clear...which in terms of a conviction, it appears to be, but the charge was never expunged so it still shows up.
Can you really lose your gun rights for an ancient felony charge without a conviction? This just doesn't seem right to me.
He was charged with 3rd degree felony possession of cocaine (possession of any quantity of cocaine is a felony charge in FL).
He was never actually convicted of the charge. He ended up spending a fortune on lawyers and jumped through a ton of hoops, was on probation for at least a year, court ordered drug tests & counselling, etc etc etc.
Long story short, however they set it up, upon successful completion of all of this (which he did) he was home free without a conviction.
He said it was dismissed, but i'm wondering if it was continued without a finding. I don't know how that would work, not a lawyer.
So, fast forward 8 years, he is having issues with pest animals so he went to a big box store and attempted to purchase a Ruger 10/22. They ran his name, and denied him the purchase.
I used the software my company uses for hiring (just basic stuff) and ran his name. It shows that he was charged, but it does not show any info about the outcome of the case.
His lawyer repeatedly assured him that after he did the drug programs, his record would be clear...which in terms of a conviction, it appears to be, but the charge was never expunged so it still shows up.
Can you really lose your gun rights for an ancient felony charge without a conviction? This just doesn't seem right to me.