Felony waiver

Last updated

A felony waiver is special permission granted to a United States military recruit with a felony on their criminal record. Some crimes that are considered to be misdemeanors according to respective state law may be, according to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, considered felonies and thus would require a felony waiver. Occupations requiring high level security clearances are usually closed to individuals seeking felony waivers. They are increasingly being issued by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps to bolster forces that are strained by the demands of the ongoing War on Terror. This is a more common practice today than in the past, [1] along with the usage of the stop-loss policy.

Contents

Former US Representative Henry Waxman of California served as chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Upon releasing data focused on felony waivers, Waxman acknowledged public sentiment regarding the usage of felony waivers, stating that "Concerns have been raised that the significant increase in the recruitment of persons with criminal records is a result of the strain put on the military by the Iraq war and may be undermining military readiness."[ citation needed ]

Usage

United States military recruiting standards vary according to branch; however, most felonies are excluded from the felony waiver. A felony that occurs below the age of criminal responsibility is more likely to be waived; likelihood decreases if the felony occurred as an adult. According to the U.S. Army, "In either case it all comes down to the type of offense and how long ago it was." [2]

Waivers must be approved by an officer who is ranked as a brigadier general or above, and recruits must have written recommendations and endorsements from community leaders illustrating they would be a good candidate for military service. [3] [4]

Frequency

Data released by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform showed the number of soldiers admitted to the Army with felony records doubled from 249 in 2006 to 511 in 2007. The number of Marines with felonies rose from 208 to 350. According to the U.S. Army, 15 percent of recruits needed waivers in the 12-month period ending on September 30, 2006; 18 percent of the recruits needed them in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007. The total number of sailors who received felony waivers was 48 in 2006 and 42 in 2007. There were no Air Force recruits with waivers for felony convictions in 2007. [5] [6]

Crimes

In 2007 more than half of the Army's 511 convictions[ clarification needed ] were for theft-related offenses ranging from burglaries to bad checks and motor vehicle theft. Another 130 were for drug offenses. The remainder included two for manslaughter; five for sexual crimes, including rape, incest or sexual assault; and three for negligent or vehicular homicide. Two received waivers for terroristic threats, in 2007. [7]

235 of the Marine Corps' 350 waivers were for various types of thefts in 2007, and another 63 were for assaults or robberies that may also have included use of a weapon. The remainder included one for manslaughter in 2007; four for sex crimes; and five for terroristic threats, including bomb threats. The Navy's convictions were mostly for a variety of thefts or drug and drunk driving convictions, with two for threats in 2007. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments including capital punishment could be added; other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.

A misdemeanor is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences. Typically misdemeanors are punished with monetary fines or community service.

Theft Act of taking anothers property without permission or consent

Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word theft is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as larceny, robbery, embezzlement, extortion, blackmail, or receiving stolen property. In some jurisdictions, theft is considered to be synonymous with larceny, while in others, theft is defined more narrowly. Someone who carries out an act of theft may be described as a thief.

Intimidation is intentional behavior that would cause a person of reasonable apprehension to fear injury or harm. It is not necessary to prove that the behavior caused the victim to experience terror or panic.

In the United States, habitual offender laws have been implemented since at least 1952, and are part of the United States Justice Department's Anti-Violence Strategy. These laws require a person who is convicted of an offense and who has one or two other previous serious convictions to serve a mandatory life sentence in prison, with or without parole depending on the jurisdiction. The purpose of the laws is to drastically increase the punishment of those who continue to commit offenses after being convicted of one or two serious crimes.

California Penal Code Defines most criminal law, criminal procedure, and penal institutions in California

The Penal Code of California forms the basis for the application of most criminal law, criminal procedure, penal institutions, and the execution of sentences, among other things, in the American state of California. It was originally enacted in 1872 as one of the original four California Codes, and has been substantially amended and revised since then. The entirety of the Penal Code is available for free at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codesTOCSelected.xhtml?tocCode=PEN

A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime. Thus, military prisons are of two types: penal, for punishing and attempting to reform members of the military who have committed an offense, and confinement-oriented, where captured enemy combatants are confined for military reasons until hostilities cease.

Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (2003), is one of two cases upholding a sentence imposed under California's three strikes law against a challenge that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. As in its prior decision in Harmelin v. Michigan, the United States Supreme Court could not agree on the precise reasoning to uphold the sentence. But, with the decision in Ewing and the companion case Lockyer v. Andrade, the Court effectively foreclosed criminal defendants from arguing that their non-capital sentences were disproportional to the crime they had committed.

Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States and prior to 1976, Canada, that refers to "an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community". This term appears in U.S. immigration law beginning in the 19th century.

United States Army Criminal Investigation Division

The United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (USACID), previously known as the United States Army Criminal Investigation Command (USACIDC) is the primary federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Army. Its primary function is to investigate felony crimes and serious violations of military law & the United States Code within the US Army. The division is a separate military investigative force with investigative autonomy; CID special agents, both military and civilian, report through the CID chain of command to the USACID Director, who reports directly to the Under Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Army.

A moral waiver is an action by United States armed forces officials to accept, for induction into one of the military services, a recruit who is in one or more of a list of otherwise disqualifying situations.

A terroristic threat is a threat to commit a crime of violence or a threat to cause bodily injury to another person and terrorization as the result of the proscribed conduct. Several U.S. states have enacted statutes which impose criminal liability for "terroristic threatening" or "making a terroristic threat."

Armed Career Criminal Act 1984 United States federal law

The Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 (ACCA) is a United States federal law that provides sentence enhancements for felons who commit crimes with firearms if they are convicted of certain crimes three or more times.

In the United States, the law for murder varies by jurisdiction. In most US jurisdictions there is a hierarchy of acts, known collectively as homicide, of which first-degree murder and felony murder are the most serious, followed by second-degree murder and, in a few states, third-degree murder, followed by voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter which are not as serious, followed by reckless homicide and negligent homicide which are the least serious, and ending finally in justifiable homicide, which is not a crime. However, because there are at least 52 relevant jurisdictions, each with its own criminal code, this is a considerable simplification.

United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division Federal law enforcement agency

The United States Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division is a federal law enforcement agency that investigates crimes against people and property within the United States Marine Corps.

Employment discrimination against persons with criminal records in the United States has been illegal since enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Employers retain the right to lawfully consider an applicant's or employee's criminal conviction(s) for employment purposes e.g., hiring, retention, promotion, benefits, and delegated duties.

The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called judge advocates.

Felony disenfranchisement in the United States Prohibiting criminals from voting in elections in the United States

Felony disenfranchisement in the United States is the suspension or withdrawal of voting rights due to the conviction of a criminal offense. The actual class of crimes that results in disenfranchisement vary between jurisdictions, but most commonly classed as felonies, or may be based on a certain period of incarceration or other penalty. In some jurisdictions disfranchisement is permanent, while in others suffrage is restored after a person has served a sentence, or completed parole or probation. Felony disenfranchisement is one among the collateral consequences of criminal conviction and the loss of rights due to conviction for criminal offense. In 2016, 6.1 million individuals were disenfranchised on account of a conviction, 2.47% of voting-age citizens. As of October 2020, it was estimated that 5.1 million voting-age US citizens were disenfranchised for the 2020 presidential election on account of a felony conviction, 1 in 44 citizens. As suffrage rights are generally bestowed by state law, state felony disenfranchisement laws also apply to elections to federal offices.

Felony disenfranchisement in Florida is currently a contentious political issue in Florida. Though the general principle of felony disenfranchisement is not in dispute, the disenfranchisement of people who had been convicted of a felony and have served their sentence — that includes prison, bail and parole — but continue being barred from voting if they have outstanding fines, fees or restitution obligations is in contention. Prior to January 8, 2019, when Amendment 4 came into effect, people convicted of a felony effectively lost their right to vote for life, as it could only be restored by the governor as an act of clemency, which rarely occurred. Florida was one of four states with a lifetime ban, the others being Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia.

The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 is a New York criminal law passed in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, that created a new section of the New York Penal Code for terrorism-related crimes, Article 490. The bill was introduced in a special session of the New York State Legislature on September 17, 2001. It was passed by overwhelming majorities of both houses and signed into law by Governor George Pataki the same day.

References

  1. ↑ Alvarez, L. "Army and Marine Corps Grant More Felony Waivers", The New York Times. April 22, 2008. Retrieved 4/22/08.
  2. ↑ "Can I join the Army with a felony?" Archived 2008-04-17 at the Wayback Machine Army.com. Retrieved 4/22/08.
  3. ↑ Baldor, L.C. (2008) "More convicted felons allowed to enlist in Army, Marines", Associated Press. p 1. Retrieved 4/22/08.
  4. ↑ HireFelonJobs. (2022) "Joining the Military With a Felony Conviction, is it allowed?", CCN. Retrieved 24/07/22.
  5. ↑ Baldor, L.C. (2008). p 1.
  6. ↑ "Felony waiver".
  7. ↑ Baldor, L.C. (2008) "More convicted felons allowed to enlist in Army, Marines", Associated Press. p 3. Retrieved 4/22/08.
  8. ↑ Baldor, L.C. (2008). p 3.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.