Just got my certified court disposition letter – USELESS !?!?!

G

GhostRider

Registered Users (C)
As mentioned in my other thread, I was arrested some 5+ years ago in a road rage incident. Went to trial, the case was annulled (nole prosequi), charges were dismissed, and the case has been sealed to the public (I was not found guilty and no alternative sentencing/probation were entered). Due to this fact, (the prosecutor dropped the charges), and because more than 3 years have passed since the incident, Connecticut General Statue mandates that the case shall be physically disposed of.

As I’m gathering all the necessary paperwork for the N400 application, I’ve requested an official certified disposition letter from the court Record’s Center.

Well, I just got it and I think it’s useless for immigration purposes – you be the judge (no pun intended :eek:). The following is the content of the letter word for word:

To Whom It May Concern:

Re: <Defendant’s name>

Docket number: 1) *****************

Date of disposition: **/**/03

In regards to the above-captioned matters, under Section 54-142a of the Connecticut General Statue there is no public record. Please be advised that this case has been physically destroyed in accordance with Section 7-13 of the Connecticut Practice book.

Very truly yours,

**** ******
Records Manager

<<Notarized Seal Here>>
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I’m not sure if this certified letter is a good or bad thing. On one hand it states that the case no longer exists, which could be a good thing as any BS involved cannot be obtained anymore. On the other hand, how do I know the IO won’t say something like: “Well… it only mentions a docket number. There are no references to the exact charges, outcome, etc.” How do I know that you are presenting me with an incorrect/false docket? This docket could belong any case in the world..." :confused:

Any thoughts/comments?

I Googled “Section 54-142a of the Connecticut General Statue”, and here is what it states:

Connecticut General Statutes § 54-142a - Erasure of criminal records​

(a) Whenever in any criminal case, on or after October 1, 1969, the accused, by a final judgment, is found not guilty of the charge or the charge is dismissed, all police and court records and records of any state's attorney pertaining to such charge shall be erased upon the expiration of the time to file a writ of error or take an appeal, if an appeal is not taken, or upon final determination of the appeal sustaining a finding of not guilty or a dismissal, if an appeal is taken. Nothing in this subsection shall require the erasure of any record pertaining to a charge for which the defendant was found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect or guilty but not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect.

(c) Whenever any charge in a criminal case has been nolled in the Superior Court, or in the Court of Common Pleas, if at least thirteen months have elapsed since such nolle, all police and court records and records of the state's or prosecuting attorney or the prosecuting grand juror pertaining to such charge shall be erased

Whenever such absolute pardon (nole prosequi) was received on or after October 1, 1974, such records shall be erased.
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I then Googled "Section 7-13 of the Connecticut Practice book" to see what those mandate, and here it is:

Sec. 7-13. —Criminal/Motor Vehicle Files and Records (Amended June 29, 1998, to take effect Jan. 1, 1999.)​

(a) Upon the disposition of any criminal case, except a case in which a felony or a capital felony conviction resulted, or any motor vehicle case, including any matter brought pursuant to the commission of an infraction or a violation, the file may be stripped of all papers except (1) the executed arrest warrant and original affidavit in support of probable cause, the misdemeanor/motor vehicle summons, prosecutorial summons or the complaint ticket, (2) the uniform arrest report, (3) the information or indictment and any substitute information, (4) a written plea of nolo contendere, (5) documents relating to programs for adjudication and treatment as a youthful offender, programs relating to family violence education, community service labor, accelerated pretrial rehabilitation, pretrial drug education, pretrial alcohol education and treatment, determination of competency to stand trial or suspension of prosecution or any other programs for adjudication or treatment which may be created from time to time, (6) any official receipts, (7) the judgment mittimus, (8) any written notices of rights, (9) orders regarding probation, (10) any exhibits on file, (11) any transcripts on file of proceedings held in the matter, and (12) the transaction sheet. (b) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the copy of the application for a search warrant and affidavits filed pursuant to General Statutes § 54-33c shall be destroyed upon the expiration of three years from the filing of the copy of the application and affidavits with the clerk. (c) Except as otherwise provided, the papers stripped from the court file may be destroyed upon the expiration of ninety days from the date of disposition of the case. (d) Upon the disposition of any criminal or motor vehicle case in which the defendant has been released pursuant to a bond, the clerk shall remove the bond form from the file and maintain it in the clerk’s office for such periods as determined by the chief court administrator. (e) Upon the disposition of any criminal or motor vehicle case in which property is seized, whether pursuant to a search warrant, an arrest, an in rem proceeding or otherwise, the clerk shall remove the executed search warrant, if any, papers relating to any in rem proceedings, if any, and the inventory of the seized property from the court file and maintain them in the clerk’s office during the pendency of proceedings to dispose of the property and for such further periods as determined by the chief court administrator.

(f) In cases in which there has been neither a conviction nor the payment of a fine on any charge, the file shall be destroyed upon the expiration of three years from the date of disposition. (g) In cases in which a fine has been paid pursuant to an infraction or a violation, the file shall be destroyed upon the expiration of five years from the date of disposition. (h) In cases in which there has been a conviction of a misdemeanor charge but not a conviction of a felony charge, the file shall be destroyed upon the expiration of ten years from the date of disposition. (i) In cases in which there has been a conviction of a felony charge but not a conviction of a capital felony charge, the file, all exhibits and the transcripts of all proceedings held in the matter shall be destroyed upon the expiration of twenty years from the date of disposition or upon the expiration of the sentence, whichever is later. (j) In cases in which there has been a conviction of a capital felony charge, the file, all exhibits and the transcripts of all proceedings held in the matter shall be destroyed upon the expiration of twentyfive years from the death of the person convicted. (k) The file and records in any case in which an individual is adjudged a youthful offender shall be retained for ten years. (l) The file in any case in which the disposition is not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect shall be retained for seventy-five years. (m) Investigatory grand jury records shall be retained permanently.
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It is fitting that GhostRider has a Ghost Case ;) I don't know what to say. It seems that it can hardly become an issue. Take the documents with you and explain the situation, it seems that the truth is actually on your side, and that's good. Charges were dismissed, that's good.
 
GhostRider said:
As mentioned in my other thread, I was arrested some 5+ years ago in a road rage incident. Went to trial, the case was annulled (nole prosequi), charges were dismissed, and the case has been sealed to the public (I was not found guilty and no alternative sentencing/probation were entered). Due to this fact, (the prosecutor dropped the charges), and because more than 3 years have passed since the incident, Connecticut General Statue mandates that the case shall be physically disposed of.

As I’m gathering all the necessary paperwork for the N400 application, I’ve requested an official certified disposition letter from the court Record’s Center.

Well, I just got it and I think it’s useless for immigration purposes – you be the judge (no pun intended :eek:). The following is the content of the letter word for word:




I’m not sure if this certified letter is a good or bad thing. On one hand it states that the case no longer exists, which could be a good thing as any BS involved cannot be obtained anymore. On the other hand, how do I know the IO won’t say something like: “Well… it only mentions a docket number. There are no references to the exact charges, outcome, etc.” How do I know that you are presenting me with an incorrect/false docket? This docket could belong any case in the world..." :confused:

Any thoughts/comments?

I Googled “Section 54-142a of the Connecticut General Statue”, and here is what it states:



I then Googled "Section 7-13 of the Connecticut Practice book" to see what those mandate, and here it is:
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Don't worry yourself sick over this. Look if there is no record there is no record. Not that I am the expert, but I am certain there is always a record of some kind to be found if you had been charged, found guilty etc. The mere fact they disposed of the case should be a good sign! So keep the letter as proof that there indeed was nothing!
 
My COD was my demise....it said I was guilty.....but it did not say of what...guess i am just guilty.. Simply Guilty...... Whatever.........

Synn_r just really don't give a **** anymore.....

I officially flew over the coo coos nest today...hate to see myself a year from now....sigh
 
synn_r said:
My COD was my demise....it said I was guilty.....but it did not say of what...guess i am just guilty.. Simply Guilty...... Whatever.........

Synn_r just really don't give a **** anymore.....

I officially flew over the coo coos nest today...hate to see myself a year from now....sigh
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Have you been boozing again synn_r ??
 
GhostRider,

To make an overzealous IO shut up, make sure you print out the legal excerpts that you googled, highlight the applicable sections and bring them to the interview, along with the disposition that you received. Everything will work out in your favor, especially since no record exists.
 
Vorpal said:
GhostRider,

To make an overzealous IO shut up, make sure you print out the legal excerpts that you googled, highlight the applicable sections and bring them to the interview, along with the disposition that you received. Everything will work out in your favor, especially since no record exists.
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Thanks Vorpal, I was thinking of doing the exact thing. Otherwise an uneducated IO may not understand that the record has been destroyed BECAUSE I was not found guilty.

My next stop: Making sure the arrest record is destroyed as well. I recall it as not being too favorable. I know it should not be considered for naturalization purposes but rather only court dispositions should count, still...

I just need to figure out how to make sure the arrest record is erased as well, that way if I'm asked for it - that too, will be gone. When I was at the police station inquiring about erasing the record, I was told i will need a certified court order, but when I asked at the court, the not-so-bright clerk had no clue of WTF I was talking about when I said "arrest record erasure"... :confused:

Maybe this certified court disposition will help. :rolleyes:
 
Salujac said:
I had the same letter for a DWI back in 1997... It was accepted and my case approved.
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Are you saying you had a certified court disposition letter with only a docket number on it and no charges listed? Did he asked you to prove anything with regards to matching the docket number and the actual charges?
 
GhostRider said:
Thanks Vorpal, I was thinking of doing the exact thing. Otherwise an uneducated IO may not understand that the record has been destroyed BECAUSE I was not found guilty.

My next stop: Making sure the arrest record is destroyed as well. I recall it as not being too favorable. I know it should not be considered for naturalization purposes but rather only court dispositions should count, still...

I just need to figure out how to make sure the arrest record is erased as well, that way if I'm asked for it - that too, will be gone. When I was at the police station inquiring about erasing the record, I was told i will need a certified court order, but when I asked at the court, the not-so-bright clerk had no clue of WTF I was talking about when I said "arrest record erasure"... :confused:

Maybe this certified court disposition will help. :rolleyes:
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Haha, an "uneducated IO" is an oxymoron. An EDUCATED IO wouldn't demand proof of payment for $50 "no u-turn" ticket, when it clearly states in the Guide to Naturalization that no proof needs to be provided for traffic tickets under $500, as long as it's not a DUI/DWI.

It may be a little more difficult, if not impossible, to expunge an arrest record. Unless the arrest was false, there's little that can be done to remove it from your record. However, being that you're bringing a court record to the interview, I believe that overrides the necessity to provide an arrest record.
 
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GhostRider said:
Are you saying you had a certified court disposition letter with only a docket number on it and no charges listed? Did he asked you to prove anything with regards to matching the docket number and the actual charges?
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I had a letter from the attorney and the original police report... that was it. he did not ask for anything else.
 
i was arrested a few years ago,6 or 7 year to be so what exact.i can't remember the charges fully to tell you the truth but i was alot of charges .it happen on the night of the last great blackout in brooklyn ny.i was fingerprinted and everything then saw a judge after almost 73 hour,the judge ask the charges and then released me with out any need of paying bail but a court date was set for a later date which i appeared for and after that one there was another one set which i did appeared for again and at that time the charges was dismiss and i was allowed to go and if my memory serve me right the paper was then handed to the bailiff who then ripped them up and the next case started against another person , now here my question .i tired doing a back ground check on myself with nycourt which is located at 25 beaver st in Manhattan for 55 buck but it came up with nothing what does this mean because i don't have any records of disposition to prove that my case was dismiss and i can't remember anything much beyond what i stated above about the case ,so what does really mean does it mean that i don't have record,if so where can i find it if nycourt could find and i had just turn 21 i think so that another reason why i was release with no bail since i had no other offense but i know for a fact that the case was not dismiss
 
If your case was dismissed then there is no conviction record. What USCIS wants to see is that you weren't convicted. Evidence of the court disposition should be sufficient to prove this.
 
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