HELP facing misdemeanor traffic charge on monday.

Nurses Criminal

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I currently have a clean background. I just got my license and now facing a charge of operating a vehiche with suspended registration. I was totally shocked when I got stopped for this. I am so hurt because Im realizing that this is a misdemeanor and will ruin my background which is now clean. It's not that I was negligent, just a misunderstanding that I cannot get any documentation for before the courtdate, which is the trial date. I am so hurt as I intend to go back to nursing school for my RN and they require a clean background. I am so disappointed that I just got my license and now I'm faced with this. Not sure what to do.

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Specializes in SRNA.

Be honest about anything in your criminal background and explain it thoroughly. Nursing, as a profession, doesn't require everyone to have a clean background, but there is concern when criminal charges point towards poor judgement - especially if that poor judgement can affect patient care. Driving a vehicle without registration, while illegal, probably wouldn't be deemed something that would impact your practice as a nurse or a threat to patient safety, unless your responsibilities included driving a patient somewhere.

Of course, this is just my opinion. I would call the Board of Nursing and tell them what happened and ask for advice.

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

As misdemeanors go, this one's pretty minor. In fact, I'm surprised it's not considered an infraction as it is in my state, which is not necessary to report to the BON.

When I was much younger, I was charged with several misdemeanors stemming from traffic tickets that started out as infractions, but got complicated when I missed a couple of court appearances and failed to pay the resulting fines. Talk about being stupid.....Luckily, when I finally went to court on these charges the judge gave me a huge break and reduced them all back to infractions, so I never had an actual misdemeanor conviction on my record. I hope this happens for you as well.....seems to me like calling the operation of an unregistered vehicle a misdemeanor is overkill, and I bet if you talk to a judge he'll reduce the charge.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

It's an arrest, not a conviction. Lawyer up and/or ask for a continuance if you need more time to prepare your case.

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