Can you be denied for this??

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A co-worker says he won't get a LTC because he was arrested in 2002 for driving with a suspended license. It was suspended because of a late fee unpaid on a speeding ticket in NH, and Mass (at the time) didn't notify drivers of this. So he was shocked when pulled over for speeding and then locked up (for 30min). It was a $50 fine!

I told him he's crazy and that is nothing and apply.

Am I wrong? [thinking]
 
So he paid the fine? If so, he plead guilty to a misdemeanor with a max penalty of 2 & 1/2 years. Some fine! He is likely right if he plead guilty. See DrGrant's sig line. Making criminals out of citizens one law at a time. If he moves to a free state he will be fine, for now at least.
 
Submit the app anyways. Worth a shot especially if they are a gambler. If the app isn't sent in you DQ yourself.
 
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In MA you have that "suitability" thing that lets the licensing official deny you for any reason, real or imagined.

They can deny you for leaving your chewing gum on the bedpost overnight if they want.

Lawyer up, head to court to appeal.
 
If he, after getting arrested, went to court later on and got the charge dismissed, he should be fine. I was arrested 3 times for driving with a suspended license due to not paying tickets. Each time, I went to court and told the judge, "Your honor I have paid the fines and my license has been reinstated." - the judges looked at me like I was wasting their time and dismissed my case every time. When I applied for my LTC, I fully disclosed these arrests and they had no impact on my application at all.

...but if his case wasn't dismissed like mine and he pleaded guilty, that's a whole different situation...
 
If he, after getting arrested, went to court later on and got the charge dismissed, he should be fine. I was arrested 3 times for driving with a suspended license due to not paying tickets. Each time, I went to court and told the judge, "Your honor I have paid the fines and my license has been reinstated." - the judges looked at me like I was wasting their time and dismissed my case every time. When I applied for my LTC, I fully disclosed these arrests and they had no impact on my application at all.

...but if his case wasn't dismissed like mine and he pleaded guilty, that's a whole different situation...

He said he paid the fine and had his license back the same day! Case dismissed? plead guilty? I'm not sure. He did say he was in and out of there in 15min.
 
Called in a favor to get his background checked; I felt guilty for telling him he would be OK. He doesn't even show a record of the arrest, and the court case either. There is a DMV record of the suspension though.

How can this be
 
He should not lie on his application or fail to omit it. He should also contact the court where he paid the fine and get a record of what transpired. Then he will know enough to try or not. What kevlar posted was not clear to me which one he violated from the description you gave.
 
He should not lie on his application or fail to omit it. He should also contact the court where he paid the fine and get a record of what transpired. Then he will know enough to try or not. What kevlar posted was not clear to me which one he violated from the description you gave.

I told him to tell the LEO in his interview about it. My source is a good one and he can't find any record of the case/arrest, so no record to pull. So he should be just fine.

Kevlar's link (from MA general law I think) stated that for a first offense it is not a crime punishable by more than the 2 years that would disqualify him.
 
Everybody, including your friend seems to guessing as what exactly the actual charge and disposition were. That's hardly a good idea, considering that simple things like this can be treated in radically different manners. Have him get a CORI report on himself before he applies or bothers with a lawyer. If he decides to see a attorney, that's almost certainly the first thing the attorney is going to want, so why pay for him to write in for a copy?

Ken
 
He should not lie on his application or fail to omit it. He should also contact the court where he paid the fine and get a record of what transpired. Then he will know enough to try or not. What kevlar posted was not clear to me which one he violated from the description you gave.

I was only commenting that IF it was a simple operating after suspension charge, and IF this was a first offense, then that should not be a statutory disqualification. I agree that he should exercise due diligence by contacting the court for the disposition of the case AND request a CORI report (http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/chsb/cori_request_personal.pdf) so he can see EXACTLY what is on his record.

ETA: I see ken beat me to it
 
If he, after getting arrested, went to court later on and got the charge dismissed, he should be fine. I was arrested 3 times for driving with a suspended license due to not paying tickets. Each time, I went to court and told the judge, "Your honor I have paid the fines and my license has been reinstated." - the judges looked at me like I was wasting their time and dismissed my case every time. When I applied for my LTC, I fully disclosed these arrests and they had no impact on my application at all.

...but if his case wasn't dismissed like mine and he pleaded guilty, that's a whole different situation...
You must live in a "green" town or city. A guy in Wakefield was refused a LTC by the chief because he, at one time, had a 209A restraining order taken out against him by his estranged wife while they were going through a divorce. He was never arrested or accused of domestic violence. She went to court and said that she feared for her safety. No doubt, her divorce lawyer told her to do it in order to get the upper hand. He lawyered up ($$$$$!!!!!!) and fought it through the courts, all the way up to MS SJC. His argument was that the 209A had expired over a decade ago and that it was no longer relevant. He lost, as the judges repeatedly sided with the chief's decision about him being "not suitable". Until we are able to successfully remove this discretion from LTC licensing, a gun owner is just one arrest or 209A against losing his rights.
 
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the last COP in Wakefield was a real DOUCHE, and the guy who got denied was a Dentist who had the resources to fight the good fight.

I wonder if under the new COP, Smith from Melrose PD, that guy would get another bite at the apple.
 
You must live in a "green" town or city. A guy in Wakefield was refused a LTC by the chief because he, at one time, had a 209A restraining order taken out against him by his estranged wife while they were going through a divorce. He was never arrested or accused of domestic violence. She went to court and said that she feared for her safety. No doubt, her divorce lawyer told her to do it in order to get the upper hand. He lawyered up ($$$$$!!!!!!) and fought it through the courts, all the way up to MS SJC. His argument was that the 209A had expired over a decade ago and that it was no longer relevant. He lost, as the judges repeatedly sided with the chief's decision about him being "not suitable". Until we are able to successfully remove this discretion from LTC licensing, a gun owner is just one arrest or 209A against losing his rights.

I live in Boston.
 
Called in a favor to get his background checked; I felt guilty for telling him he would be OK. He doesn't even show a record of the arrest, and the court case either. There is a DMV record of the suspension though.

How can this be

MA courts and the RMV are two separate entities. In fact the RMV in MA can suspend your license for just about any reason they come up with. You can be found innocent of OUI/DUI in court and the RMV can still suspend your license.

My brother had a reckless driving in NH. He got his license pulled by NH. Once it was reinstated by NH, he had to bring a letter to the MA RMV from NH stating that his license was restored. MA RMV told him tough cookies, we're keeping you license for another 3 months and charging you 500 bucks to restore it.
 
His argument was that the 209A had expired over a decade ago and that it was no longer relevant. He lost, as the judges repeatedly sided with the chief's decision about him being "not suitable". Until we are able to successfully remove this discretion from LTC licensing, a gun owner is just one arrest or 209A against losing his rights.
This would make a dang-near perfect Heller case.

The Wakefield chief's position was that the court granted a restraining order after a hearing, and that hearing constituted a judicial finding that the applicant "posed a threat of violence", and that expiration of the restraining order did not change the fact that he had a history of a judicial finding that he posed a violent threat. The PD had a policy that no LTC shall ever be issued to anyone who had a restraining order, except a temporary one that was not subsequently extended after a judicial hearing.
 
Wakefield also had a policy, long before Lautenberg of grabbing permits,and FIDS at the first sign of a 209 order.

Like I said before the COP was a total douche, and I don't have a lot of love for the WPD in general, there are a LOT of bad cops on that department, but there are a couple of really good ones too.
 
do they go back that far to check? shit i just got my government security clearance and they only went back 7 years....doubt LTC is even that
 
Wakefield also had a policy, long before Lautenberg of grabbing permits,and FIDS at the first sign of a 209 order.

Like I said before the COP was a total douche, and I don't have a lot of love for the WPD in general, there are a LOT of bad cops on that department, but there are a couple of really good ones too.
It is not just COPS who are d-bags, it is judges as well. Most of them crap themselves when a woman sheds a few crocodile tears in court during her application for a 209A RO against her hubby or boyfriend. The husband, especially if he is pulling in a good income, is the real prize target. After getting the upper hand through an RO, she can proceed to take him to the cleaners in divorce court. Unfortunately, some of these women became victims of violence and now judges view any male in the process of divorce as a potential killer. Thus, they have been issuing 209As at an alarmingly high rate for at least the last decade.
Again, that is the advantage of the FID card. After the RO expires, you have every legal right to get the FID back. Not so with the discretionary LTC. Some chiefs will never give you your LTC back. If you have an expensive pistol or hi-cap rifle/shotgun collection, you're screwed. Your valuable collection is now history and you will take a financial beating in a forced sale.
 
do they go back that far to check? shit i just got my government security clearance and they only went back 7 years....doubt LTC is even that

In MA they only go back to the time you were born, so if you did a crime while still in the womb, you can skate! [rolleyes] [thinking] [frown]

Since the records aren't always complete and they keep adding to them from the old paper records, you can get a LTC today and be denied for something they "just found" on your next renewal . . . or sooner.

[And no, I am not kidding with what I wrote above. Juvie records count, sealed records count, etc.]
 
I was only commenting that IF it was a simple operating after suspension charge, and IF this was a first offense, then that should not be a statutory disqualification.

Correct.. it is not a disqualifier... as a matter of fact it has recently been de-criminalized.
 
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