Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jack Bauer on October 10, 2012 at 10:15pm

Quit drinking.

Depends on the job and the employer.  You're going to have a problem for a while if you're planning on doing anything that requires a CDL.  It is going to be case-by-case.  Employers with a background check will likely hold DWIs against you for at least a few years.  Three is a pattern, though ... so it may take a bit longer for them to be willing to overlook them.  Also may take a bit longer if any resulted in a felony conviction, jail/prison time, etc.

Whatever the consequences, they're only going to get worse if you don't get yourself under control.  You can't change the past.

JB

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Permalink Reply by J. Hughes on October 10, 2012 at 10:48pm

I agree with Mr. Bauer, you got a problem. You need to solve the drinking before you need to worry about job prospects. Then I am assuming you are going to have a real transportation problem just getting back and forth from work.

I work for a large construction company and we do background checks on all management level employees and you will need to be able to discuss it if it comes up and it will.

 

But 3 or 4 years and no problem and it will start to drift into the back ground 7 or 8 years without any issue and you will be moving forward. I would suggest looking at a program of some sort to work out the issues with drinking and driving.

 

Good Luck,

 

 

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Permalink Reply by James Reese Curtis on October 10, 2012 at 11:19pm

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate the constructive comments. This is why I have become such a fan of AoM because its a place to talk and receive credible feedback. I have been in a program for about a month now and have made some really positive improvements to my life. Im am coming to terms with my problem I was just interested in how my record will affect me later in life. 

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Permalink Reply by David F. on October 11, 2012 at 8:55am

I agree with employers holding it against him except he is still in college.  If he can show a turnaround point they may not hold it as strongly against him as people will cut college students a little slack for stupid if they show they learned from it.

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Permalink Reply by LShieldes on October 11, 2012 at 7:52am

Do they consider the third a felony where you live? That can have huge impacts on your life if so. Also, as others have stated, driving related jobs will probably be out.

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Permalink Reply by David F. on October 11, 2012 at 8:53am

A fellow I know got busted for drugs in college.  He realized the path he was on was not what he wanted.  He dumped his girlfriend, raised his grades the following year and faced the issue when it was asked by his employer.  He almost did not get his licence to practice his line of training.  But because he could clearly show he did an about face on that life he now has the job he wants, is getting married to a like minded woman and they have a house.

This is your 3rd hit at not calling a cab and getting caught.  One might argue that once is a mistake but a Third?  

My suggestion is from this point in school as you changed majors is to get A's in everything.  It will be hard if you are not used to the workload to do this but you will have a clear line in the sand where you turned around and can speak to that.  

You may have to switch some of your friends also if they are party animals that let you drive.  I don't know the stories behind the 3 DWIs but something is off in how you handle drinking / socializing.   It might be Timing, it might be not saying "No, I can not" when you must for safety reasons.

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Permalink Reply by Sloan on October 11, 2012 at 9:01am

Yes, yes it will prevent you from having a good job with good benefits, unless your Dad is insanely connected.  Given that you've had 3 DWIs in 6 years.... most people wouldn't want you near a potato gun let alone their livelihood. 

Best you can do is give up on the sauce all together, do a ton of volunteer work and hope those two things convince an employer you've complete ditched the old James for a new one. 

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Permalink Reply by Karl Helweg on October 11, 2012 at 11:25am

In Alaska even one DWI/DUI can delay obtaining a professional license by months.  Save every shred of legal documentation such as the original tickets, charging documents, resolutions, reciepts, and certificates of completion for any court ordered evalutaion and counseling.  You will probably need these throughout you adult life.  If you do not have these documents contact the court house(s) and counseling centers to obtain copies then lock them up someplace secure. 

A legal discussion that has recently come up is "moral turpitude" which can potentially include a DWI while driving without a license or multiple DWIs.  In some states and for some professional licenses this gives a board the authority to simply say "no" to an applicant.  Check your local laws carefully - they are often online these days.   Hopefully none of your DWIs are listed as felonies - that is a whole different bad ball game.  If you have been convicted of a felony I would strongly suggest that you contact a good experienced attorney about getting this felony overturned at any cost even if it means giving up driving for some time or getting a breathalyzer installed on your ignition. 

Yes, multiple DWIs are an issue in the military but if you document them completely, completed all counseling, and are up front with your recruiter he might be able to work with you.  (Especially if you are skinny and in shape.)  Some jobs such as aviation and those requiring top secret clearances might be unavailable to you now.  In my day the Navy tended to be the most forgiving branch. 

Oh yes, stop drinking.  Period. 

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Permalink Reply by Karl Helweg on October 11, 2012 at 11:38am

Wow, Missouri really doesn't screw around with DWIs:  http://dor.mo.gov/drivers/dwiinfo.php

Automatic 10 year license suspension for 3rd conviction.  Even if your conviction(s) are overturned they have a seaprate "administrative" tracking that will haunt you. 

IF you have a felony conviction on top of this you seriously might want to look at:

http://www.legion-recrute.com/en/  I hear that they really don't care if you drink so long as you absolutely never show up to duty drunk.   You get a clean French passport when you get out.  Talk to a Navy recruiter first. 

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Permalink Reply by Rebekah on October 11, 2012 at 11:29am

I have read before that convicted felons can't choose a branch of the military, if they can get in at all. Whether they can get in depends on how many servicemen we need right then, along with the usual tests.

Almost any job requiring a license - from lawyer to barber - will require you to state your criminal record on the license application. Whether you can still get the license is often on a case-by-case basis, depending on how far back the crimes were and how they relate to the profession's duties.

Same goes for working or volunteering for the government. [at a military hospital, for example]

A lot of jobs, such as sales or even lawyering, require driving, even if it's not a key skill set, as it would be for a pizza boy.

Jobs and volunteering with kids is probably out, too.

I agree with the consensus.

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Permalink Reply by Peyton Quinn on October 11, 2012 at 12:12pm

Times change and their is a new 'total intolerance' to DUI in the law arena. I am not really against that either. Yet I know some counties pay their police a bounty for brining in DUI cases as the average DUI brings the county $3500 in revenue.  In my county the bounty paid to the offcer is just $50 though. In other counties its more and some maybe no bounty is paid but this has driven DUI enfocement up dramatically as it is such a strong source of revenue for almost any county now. Its a 'cottage industry' too with private "alcohol abuse centers' where the court orders a person to take classes. I am not even against that either really even though in general I do feel the goverment has made itself too powerful at the sitizen's freedoms expense. Drunks do kill and cripple lot of people.

 

But as far as Times Change is concered Rebecca, in my day there was a military draft and person 18 or older but young enough to be serve as canon fodder was very often given a choice by the judge, "Join the Army or go to jail".

I laugh now when I remember a buddy,who was a Marine (I was not a Marine) and we were drinking off duty in Saigon, he said "Dam man when I got to Boot camp I wondered, what I am doing with around all these criminals"  You got to use the humor in any sitaution sometimes especially bad ones.

Nowdays I think a felony does keep  you out of military service.We need less numbers and more quality of edcuation in soldiers now. I am really pretty anti war myself, there has to be a sound and definable tactical and stategic reason and an exit strategy too for me to get behind a US War.

Now though and nearly right now the Israeli's are going to be forced to attack Iran and not too far down the road at all either. It will engage more casulaites than tIsarel has suffered in decades too. But they really have no choice but to attack at all, they can't let Iraq vaporize them.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Karl Helweg on October 11, 2012 at 2:53pm

The military got tired of the enlist-or-prison folks and passed several regs to address them.

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/joinprison.htm

Having said that, I still served with one person who "had to join the Army" after a little incident where someone assaulted his little sister in Texas.  In his case he discovered that he liked being a soldier and was given an option to stay in and even obtain a top secret clearance after fully disclosing the crime.  Our best guess was that the investigators doing the background check thought that his criminal disclosure was a joke and ignored it(?) 

Rebekah - Good points about being restricted from doing some volunteer work.  Maybe you would be allowed to volunteer directly through a church program?  Salvation Army has a history of helping people with alcohol problems. 

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