Pre-nursing student arrested for DV, no charges filed

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Hello,

I am currently a pre-nursing student in California with another year and one class to go before I can apply to my program of choice at SDSU.

In comes the nightmare, this past weekend I was arrested for spousal battery (fingerprinted & held for a few hours on bail), and informed just today that no charges would be filed. Of course I am totally ashamed that I lost my cool in this one irreversible moment, but now I'm just trying to determine how reasonable it is to move forward. My offence is fairly minor, a slap, but the DV laws in CA are very strict, and because a neighbor phoned in a complaint, I had to be arrested. So while the fact that I am not being charged and do not have to appear in court might seem like good news, there will still always be the matter of my arrest showing up on DOJ background checks. No, I will not have to mark the convicted box, but I do have an arrest... for spousal battery! :(

I have been devastated since this happened and just have this sinking feeling that this might destroy my dream of becoming a nurse. I have never had any trouble with the law, I am a very competitive student, I have a couple hundred hours of volunteer experience at my local hospital, and most importantly, I feel the calling deep down inside of me! Of course I am in the process of interviewing criminal defense attorneys in my area to see if there might be anything I can do to have the arrest removed from my record, some say I can, some say I can't - it all happened so recently, I just need to do more research.

What I am wondering is if there is anyone out there that has a similar history that would be willing to share their experience with me. Will the fact that no charges were filed help my case in any way? Basically every person I talk to says that the arrest will be seen forever, and I can only imagine what the fact that it is battery will suggest to prospective employers. The detective that informed me the police department would not be pressing charges told me that he had written lots of favorable things about my case in the file and that I could provide his name when subjected to background checks, but will that be sufficient?? Has anyone out there found gainful employment in a traditional hospital setting with an unconvicted DV arrest on record? Again, I live in California.

I am so dizzy with al of this, I just wish all of this never happened!! I hope to hear some encouraging words! Thanks :)

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Specializes in ED, Telemetry,Hospice, ICU, Supervisor.

Do a background check on your self.

Go to the court house/DMV/Police station. Ask for their records on you.

You do not want be "that guy" who made it through RN school only to find out that the BRN is refusing to let you take NCLEX.

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My comment is not in direct response to your question,,,,but I don't see what you plan on doing to change your ways? where is the anger management class? etc.

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Thanks for your replies. I'll get copies of whatever I can for my records, and perhaps the anger management class might help? Just as a show of good faith? I was not ordered to take classes and the detective I spoke with told me to forget it ever happened and move on with my life, that I got a "freebie." He just doesn't understand the depth of our nursing background checks though!! I don't want to divulge too many details here less they come back to haunt me, but even the police who came to my home were near apologetic for making the arrest saying that they recognized this was not a traditional case of spousal battery. Basically it just wasn't as cut and dry as that... urgh!

These truly aren't "my ways" and in reality I barely touched my husband, truly, and the officers that came to my home recognized this. They told me that here in my state, I could be arrested for throwing and empty water bottle at my husband :( This is just nuts.

I'm definitely going to sign up for a voluntary anger management class that will provide me with a certificate of completion at it's end. Perhaps that might be of use some point down the road... just wondering if my cheesy anger management cert will do anything once I'm out in the world looking to be employed?

Dear God, someone please suggest it's too soon to give up on this dream or just give it to me straight and say move on :( I need some hard truth here so that I don't spend the next 4 years living on student loans and trying to make sense of all the mind-bending science only to be left in the cold.

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if you go onto the CA BRN website, it clearly states that you DO NOT have to provide info on any arrests in which there was no conviction. You'll be fine. I am sorry you have to go through all of this, but it sounds like you need to take another look at your personal relationship

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.

Cheesy anger management class?

Your words make me nervous.

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I just have to say I am very "judgemental"....at first reading this I thought you were a man and i was about to throw the book and you and ream you for hitting your poor wife... but when you said I barely touch my husband i said ***.....and changed my mind...and said you couldn't have possibly hurt him and that is just sexist...Men can be abused also i guess this have nothing to do with the ? i just had to share this

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Ok, cheesy anger management class sounded bad. I just meant that relative to the stigma of the crime, would the class make a difference in the eyes of the court. The whole legal system, all of this stuff is totally new to me. I am now in contact with a nurse criminal defense lawyer and plan on doing everything I can to try and get the arrest removed from my record.

I've been advised not to discuss exact details, so of course I won't, but there was at least some (non-emotional) basis for my action. I am going to try and argue that point and hope that it will clear my name.

jmira, I saw that notation on the CA BON website as well, but the fact remains, driving under the influence 3x the legal blood alcohol level is looked upon more favorably buy the BON, and hell, I would almost say society in general, than a DV charge. The can and likely will still question me and subject me to hearing and ?? for it being DV. I'm just scared. The BON aren't even the real issue though, it's finding work. I have to be totally honest, if I were a hiring nurse and saw this on an applicant's background check, I would laugh. Out loud. I know that's messed up, but I would!! I get it. That's why I'm freaking out.

Only time will tell now. It will be 1-year until I can even start the process of (dear God let it happen) sealing my arrest record. Until then I'm just going to stay as focused on school as I can. I am beyond committed to nursing, I'm hoping the universe will latch on to that and help carry me to my goal!

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Same thing happened to me and I got a letter from the police department that verified it.

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Most people migth be suprised to find that more states now have laws in which an arrest of one or both parties in a domestic dispute are automatically arrested, regardless of whether such a dispute was witnessed by the police, or even whther it happned at all. Once someone calls the police (possibly a neighbor with a grudge- much like people that report child abuse to get revenge), it's a done deal. Even if the charges are unverfied and later dropped- spot on, by then you have a lifetime arrest record, a RAP sheet.

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I got the same letter, no charges are being filed, my incident is being classified as a "detention only" "not an arrest" -but that's just fluff. In reality I was arrested and that's what my RAP sheet will reflect. Yes, it will also say that no charges were filed, etc, but that won't matter. I'm going to attempt to have my arrest record sealed and destroyed. It's a highly unlikely option, but it's all I've got really.

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Any updates?

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