QUESTION
Is a dismissed Domestic Violence case a conviction?
Asked on Nov 30th, 2016 on Criminal Law - Alabama
More details to this question:
When I went to court, my attorney met with the prosecutor and had me sign a plea which stated, "Upon a plea of guilty the prosecutor makes the following offer: Dismiss on cost". I paid the court costs that day and the court disposition states, "By agreement of the parties this case is dismissed (underlined) with payment of costs". Everything else on the page is left blank. My attorney and the police were adamant that this was not considered a conviction. The court simply states that the resolution of the case was "Dismissed". The police returned my firearms to me within a week of the case being dismissed. What actually happened? Is this a "deferred judgment"? Was there a conviction?
1 ANSWER
Tax Law Attorney serving Birmingham, AL
at
Meadows & Howell, LLC
Update Your Profile
You will need to speak to the prosecutor and judge about this. If a case is "dismissed," then there is no guilty plea. Deferred judgments are not referred to as "dismissals." In a dismissal, the charges are dropped, meaning that the prosecution chooses not to move forward with the case and dismisses it entirely. If you enter a guilty plea, then this is not a dismissal. Therefore, I'm not sure why they would fill out a document that says "Upon a plea of guilty," the case will be dismissed. It's possible that they use the form for plea deals for dismissals as well, but I would have been hesitant to sign any document that mentions anything about you pleading guilty if the intent of the document was a dismissal. Check with the court clerk first and see what their records state in regard to your case. If it is reflected as a dismissal on the official court records, then I wouldn't be too worried about it, as it wouldn't show up as a conviction on your record if the court records properly show it as a dismissal. If the court records don't reflect it as a dismissal or anything seems unclear with the records, then I would ask to schedule a time to speak to the prosecutor and judge to determine why there are documents in the system suggesting that you entered a plea of guilty.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2017 at 6:35 PM