Because our offices are located near several military bases, we sometimes represent members of the armed forces. We, of course, also represent many clients who are considering joining the military. Here are some things to remember about how a criminal case can affect your ability to serve in the military:
1. A RECRUITER CAN’T ASK FOR YOUR CASE TO BE DISMISSED. While a military recruiter can verify for a prosecutor that you would be accepted into the military but for your pending criminal case, a recruiter is prohibited by law from asking a prosecutor to dismiss your case.
2. TELL YOUR RECRUITER THAT YOU HAVE A CRIMINAL CASE PENDING. If you are serious about joining the military, be honest with your recruiter. If you want a recruiter to go to bat for you, then you want that recruiter to find out about your criminal case from you, not from a phone call from a lawyer.
3. YOU CAN’T JOIN THE MILITARY WHILE YOU HAVE A CRIMINAL CASE PENDING Even if you have not been convicted, you cannot join the military while your case is still pending in court. Your case must be dismissed before you can enlist.
4. YOU CAN’T JOIN THE MILITARY WHILE YOU ARE ON SUPERVISED PROBATION Likewise, the military won’t accept you until you have completed any court-ordered supervised probation that you receive as a result of your case.
5. YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD FOLLOWS YOU INTO THE MILITARY. Simply joining the military does not wipe the slate clean as far as your criminal record goes. Your criminal record remains even after you have joined the military, and it can affect the types of promotions and positions you can receive while in the military. For example, some types of criminal convictions might make if difficult for you to receive certain classes of security clearance.
6. THE FURTHER ALONG YOU ARE IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS, THE MORE SERIOUSLY A PROSECUTOR WILL TAKE IT. What a prosecutor wants to hear before he will dismiss a case for someone wanting to serve in the military, is that the person is ready to enlist (i.e., he has passed his physical and any tests, and is ready to sign a contract). Simply saying that you want to join the military when you haven’t even spoken to a recruiter won’t impress any prosecutors.
7. YOU ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, EMPHATICALLY CANNOT HAVE ANY DISPOSITION THAT CONTAINS A FINDING OF FAMILY VIOLENCE Receiving a disposition in a criminal case that contains a finding that you committed an act of family violence restricts your ability to carry firearms under federal, not to mention Texas, law. If you are unable to carry a firearm, it does not matter if you are an accountant for the Air Force, your days in the military are numbered.
8. IF YOU ARE ALREADY IN THE MILITARY, MAKE SURE THAT A PLEA BARGAIN WILL NOT GET YOU “CHAPTERED OUT.” Convictions for some offenses will result in an automatic discharge from the military. The term “conviction” for the military might also include deferred adjudication for some offenses. Before accepting a deal in any case, always make sure that you are not accepting a plea bargain that will get you booted out of the service.
9. EVERY BRANCH OF THE MILITARY IS DIFFERENT WHEN IT COMES TO CONSIDERING YOUR CRIMINAL RECORD. Every branch of the military has different regulations concerning who will be accepted as a recruit, and who will not, based on a person’s criminal record. A criminal conviction that might keep someone from enlisting in, say, the Air Force, might not keep the same person from enlisting in the Army. Your recruiter can tell you the types of offenses that might prevent you for joining a particular branch of the military.
10. MILITARY PUNISHMENTS DON’T MAKE CIVILIAN PUNISHMENTS GO AWAY. Oftentimes when a member of the armed forces gets into trouble with the law off-base, he receives some form of punishment through the military. Although some prosecutors will take this into consideration when plea bargaining a case, the fact that the military has already handed down a punishment for the offense does not make the civilian court case go away.