Anyone w/ multiple criminal charges read!

Nurses Criminal

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How's it going everyone. Thought I would make a post hoping that it would help anyone in a similar situation. Alright, so basically I have two prior arrests both while in college, and both for Operating While Impaired/Intoxicated. The first offense, without going into much detail, I blew a 0.10 BAC and was subsequently arrested back in 2012 in Michigan before nursing school. HOWEVER, I got a lawyer who was crazy expensive but totally worth it, fought the charge and got in reduced to Reckless Driving no questions asked.

LISTEN HERE: IF ANYONE TELLS YOU THAT GETTING A CHARGE REDUCED OR EXPUNGED IS A WAIST OF TIME AND MONEY IS WRROOONNGGG!!!! Fight any charge you have, get it reduced!!! Alright so with the Reckless Driving on my record, I applied to nursing school and got into a BIG TEN University's Nursing Program with no questions asked regarding this offense. I was enrolled in nursing school and everything was going smoothly until I got arrested AGAIN, unfortunately in 2013.

To make a long story short: I slid up onto a snow bank pulling into my apartment complex, got stuck, flagged down a passing cop car for help, was Breathalyzed, and blew a 0.06 BAC. YES THAT IS RIGHT A 0.06 BAC!!!!! Below the legal limit. I don't want to minimize what I did, especially after my first incident I should not have even thought about drinking anything and driving. Especially being in nursing school. And yes if the cops a dick and feels like ******* you over he can charge you with whatever, so yes you can get charged with a OWI/DUI if you blow below the legal limit. So be super careful. So again I hired the same attorney, charged me a **** ton of money but I eventually got the charged dropped to OWVI (operating while visibly impaired or a BAC of 0.02-0.07, which is still a misdemeanor) then reduced further after a probationary period to a careless driving, which is a civil infraction (not a misdemeanor like Reckless or OWVI or a DUI/OWI).

But I had to work my ass off to get this charged reduced, I was on probation and had to do alcohol testing everyday for 3 months straight, then after that weekly ETG tests that go back like 3-4 days to see if any alcohol is in your system for another 3 months. I had to do alcohol classes weekly and the whole shebang. But eventually after the 6 months it was erased off my record and reduced to a careless, basically a speeding ticket.

Bare with me I'm getting there....so when I graduated and went to apply for my Michigan RN license I was a little nervous. But I filled out the application, and on the section where it stated to write down any criminal CONVICTIONS I stated that I was CONVICTED of a reckless driving, and since I graduated in August and the OWVI was going to be reduced to a careless in that upcoming October, I stated that I have an OWVI, which is getting reduced in a few months to a careless, or a speeding tx. Called about 3-4 weeks after I sent in my application and the BON was like "YOU ARE GOOD, ALL CLEAR!" Didn't have to send in any court documentation or anything.

So NOTE when applying places if it asks for ANY CONVICTIONS* If an application asks for PAST CHARGES, be wary about applying to that state for your license because that means ANY CHARGES* even if they were expunged or reduced. So I took my NCLEX and passed! Then after I passed my boards, my parents moved to Louisiana and I decided to follow, work down south, and try something new.

So I applied for my RN-BY ENDORSEMENT LICENSE. I was a little scared to apply for my License in Louisiana. After I read the application it stated under the criminal history section to INCLUDE ANY CHARGES THAT HAVE BEEN DROPPED OR EXPUNGED and to send in the arresting records and court documents. So basically the Louisiana BON knows what I was originally arrested for. But I thought I got my license in Michigan no problem so Louisiana wouldn't have an issue with my record. WRONG!!!

Basically took them 2 months to investigate my criminal background. After that and calling them weekly for about 2 months, they told me it has been recommended to delay your application for 5 years!!!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!! I already got hired down there as an RN, but wasn't working due to my application pending. So I had to quit the place I got hired at before even working because I couldn't get my license and explained the situation. I could have appealed the BON's decision regarding my license but that would have cost $$$$$$ in lawyer fees and taken months just to get a probationary license. And if you notice when applying to any other states by endorsement or renewing your RN license, and even on job applications there's a section that asks if your RN license has EVER BEEN REVOKED, DENIED, or put on PROBATION, and etc by any licensing agency. Whhhoooooo, nope!!!!! As soon as I saw that on the Texas RN-Endorsement application and when renewing my Michigan RN license I immediately called up the Louisiana BON withdrew my RN application.

So my point here is if you have a criminal record, RESEARCH THE STATES you want to apply for. Louisiana includes expunged misdemeanors so if you have a few misdemeanors, especially alcohol or drug related DON'T APPLY THERE. But Michigan I had no issue.

And Texas on the other hand, their application specifically states you DON'T have to include expunged charges or class C traffic misdemeanors. So technically I don't think I even need to include my reckless driving on the texas application but I did so just to be safe. And if it's too late and you sent your RN application to a state like Cali or Louisiana who's super strict with past criminal charges; WITHDRAW YOUR APPLICATION BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!! You don't want to have to check yes to YES MY LICENSE HAS BEEN REJECTED BY..., or YES MY LICENSE HAS BEEN PUT ON PROBATION or YES MY LICENSE WAS DENIED BY....and have to explain this.

I know I made some poor choices in the past while at college, but I'm looking forward to moving on with my career and staying out of trouble. I'm currently moving back to Michigan from Louisiana because of this whole licensing ordeal. Thought I would try to make the most of my situation and try to help others out in the same boat, so feel free to message me or reply with any questions. Best of luck to everyone!! AND ABOVE ALL DON'T GIVE UP AND FIGHT ANY CHARGES!!

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Thank you so much for sharing! You gave some really useful information! My state, Mississippi, seems to be pretty strict as well so I'm thinking hard about moving to Texas or Florida. Both seem to be ok with giving second chances.

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Thank you for posting this! It made me feel a little better about my situation. I was arrested for speeding 30 over the speed limit 2 years ago and they took a picture and an hour later they let me go with a court date and I passed my nclex last month but just received a letter from the professional regulations saying I'm prohibited from practicing (LPN) until I submit a detailed statement as well as court documents. Any opinions? Do you think I'll get my license after submitting them? I'm really worried.

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Yes that's definitely a good idea lol. Mississippi is also one of the compact states which means if you are licensed in another compact state you have your license in all of them I believe. I just got my Texas nursing license, which means I'm eligible for licensure in all the compact states. I would look into that more because maybe you could work in Texas or another less strict compact state then move back to Mississippi. Right now I have my license in two states: Michigan and Texas. And like I said Texas is part of the 24 compact states, which includes Mississippi, so from what I understand I can practice in all 24 compact states. Let me know if you have any questions!

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From your username it sounds like you're from Illinois. I am unsure sure about all of Illinois's Board of Nursing Policies, and from your description it appears that you were most likely charged with a reckless or careless driving. However, I don't know if you pled guilty to a lesser offense like I did, or to the reckless driving, if that's what you were charged with.

From my personal experience, I would say you're completely fine. Especially if this is you're one and only incident with no alcohol or drugs involved. For Michigan, my home state, I didn't have to send in any court documents. I only had to submit an explanation of my prior arrests, and I got licensed no problem.

For Texas, I didn't have to state my most recent incident because it was dropped, but for Louisiana I had to because they include dropped/expunged records. So, when I called the Louisiana BON and they said the recommended plan of action was to suspend my license for 5 years, I IMMEDIATELY withdrew my application. I could have fought it, but like I said in my original post I would have been placed on probation and that would have been difficult to find a job, or worse my license could have been flat out denied. So where I'm getting at is that my advice would be to SUBMIT all the court documents and explanation of events, wait a week then call them back, and if you hear from them anything along the lines of "We are NOT going to license you...", "You're license is going to be revoked...", and etc....WITHDRAW your application immediately and apply to another state. BUT...and this is a BIG BUTTTTT, I highly doubt that will happen to you, like it did with me. Just be persistent, follow up with the BON, and be honest. If you don't need to include expunged or dropped charges, DON'T INCLUDE IT! However, it sounds like this incident may be on your record. ALSO, I would recommend running a background check on yourself, an FBI background check through livescan. This will for sure let you know what's on your record. Bottom line: just be persistent, follow up with the BON, and don't speed lol. Also, compared to me you're a saint, so my gut feeling is telling me you're completely fine after you submit the required documents:) Let me know if you have any questions!

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I sent in my statement, court disposition along with my traffic safety school certificate yesterday hopefully they approve me for my license within 2 weeks like my friends was. Thank you for some reassurance (:

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Someone I know has a solicitation for prostitution charge dropped, so not an arrest but just a detention in the DOJ and took classes for it. In your opinion, what do you think the CA BON will do?

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That's awesome Illinois.Lady! Yeah it just sounds like Illinois wants an explanation, similar to when I applied to Michigan and Texas, and after that you'll get your license. Glad I was able to provide some insight. Hope the process goes smoothly! Let me know if you get licensed!

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Well, from what I've read I heard California is super strict when it comes to licensing, and their entire process is a mess because of their large population. I've read some stories where people have gotten flat out denied with just one DWI/DUI offense that was pled down to a lesser offense. I believe it just depends on how long ago this offense occurred. BUTTTTT...since your friend was NOT arrested, and subsequently NOT fingerprinted, I doubt this offense will show up on her (I'm assuming) record.

For example, I actually have another misdemeanor that I was ticketed for when I was 20. I was not arrested or fingerprinted, just ticketed. I then completed all the court ordered nonsense I had to do. I thought this offense WAS on my record. However, like I said above, I did a personal FBI background check through live scan (for my records) and this offense did NOT appear on my background check, I'm assuming because I was not fingerprinted, only ticketed for the offense. THEREFOR, I would advise your friend to do a FBI background check on herself to determine whether or not this will show up when she has to do the FBI check for the CA BON. If it does NOT show, which it should not considering your friend wasn't fingerprinted for this offense, DON'T mention it at all haha. Never happened, just like my one misdemeanor that doesn't show up on any criminal background checks....never happened.

I would also advise doing a standard criminal background check on yourself/friend through your police department, in addition to the livescan. If it does show up on her record, and if it were me, considering what I had to go through to get licensed and what I heard about CA, I would not waste time applying to California. That state's a disaster from what I heard when it comes to getting licensed. Go to another state, get some experience so they know you can practice without "prostitution" or whatever they'll look for, then reapply after a few years. I think it's like $40 for a FBI background check, and like $10 for the police department to do a regular one. Both are worth every penny lol. Let me know how it goes and the outcome! Hopefully I helped and looking forward to hearing back:)

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Sorry Jzt1004, didn't really answer your original question lol. My bad, but from what I hear about california, and if she applied with this offense showing on her record (even if it was dropped), and if this offense occurred within the last 8 to 10 years...I would say her license would get denied or put on probation. Even if this offense is dropped, it might still show that she had a prostitution charge which was dismissed on her FBI background check, it just says it was dismissed but still shows the original charge.

When I did a background check on myself, the background check read that I had an OWVI which was dismissed. But if the BON saw that offense, and cared about dropped records like Louisiana or California, that would be a red flag. California is one of those states who's super strict. It sucks, but she can definitely get licensed in other states, especially with this being dropped. Just read the application, and if it says you need to INCLUDE dropped or expunged offenses DON'T EVEN BOTHER with the state, UNLESSSSS this offense doesn't appear on her record due to the fact she wasn't fingerprinted, then apply because there is not record of this offense occurring. It's a confusing process but I hope this helps!!!

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Thank you for your reassurance ! I just checked the licensing website and I just got my license (:

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Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Just an FYI, in some states, "blowing" a 0.08 on your first offense is considered the "magic" number. Subsequent offenses may have a lower threshold for tolerance, hence the example of your 0.06 being problematic on your SECOND arrest. Just throwing that out there for readers!

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