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ISCR Case 18-00830 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 18-00830

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date7/17/2019
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Judge: Noreen A. Lynch
Government Counsel: Andrea M. Corrales
Applicant's Counsel: Mark S. Zaid
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 35-year-old project manager for a defense contractor who had held a security clearance since approximately 2009. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guideline J, Criminal Conduct, and Guideline H, Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse. The core allegations included multiple arrests for drug-related offenses, including possession of marijuana and driving under the influence.
The applicant admitted to all allegations in the SOR, which included four arrests between 2003 and 2016, three of which involved marijuana. He provided explanations for his actions, claiming he had not used marijuana since college and that he was merely holding it for a friend during the 2016 incident. He also presented evidence of rehabilitation, including completion of drug and alcohol education classes and a positive employment record. However, the administrative judge found that while the applicant mitigated concerns under Guideline J, he did not sufficiently mitigate the concerns under Guideline H due to the nature and frequency of his drug-related offenses.
Ultimately, the administrative judge ruled against the applicant, denying his national security eligibility for access to classified information. The judge emphasized that the applicant's history of drug involvement raised significant doubts about his reliability and trustworthiness, which are critical factors in determining eligibility for security clearance.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
- Guideline JCriminal Conduct · For Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 18-00830

deniedJul 17, 2019· Hon. Noreen A. Lynch· hearing

Summary

A 35-year-old project manager, holding a security clearance since 2009, was denied continued national security eligibility due to concerns under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) and Guideline J (Criminal Conduct). The Statement of Reasons specifically cited an arrest and charge for possession of marijuana and concealing.

The denial stemmed from the applicant's history of multiple arrests for marijuana possession and driving under the influence, including an incident that occurred while he already possessed a security clearance. The judge found the applicant's explanation for one marijuana possession—claiming he held it for a friend—to be not credible, which further raised doubts about his judgment and reliability.

Despite the application of mitigating conditions under Guideline J, the judge concluded that the applicant's recent drug-related behavior and lack of credibility regarding his actions demonstrated a level of unreliability and untrustworthiness inconsistent with national security requirements. Consequently, the applicant's security clearance was denied.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant had multiple arrests for marijuana possession and driving under the influence, including an arrest while holding a security clearance.
The applicant's claim of holding marijuana for a friend was not found credible, raising doubts about his judgment and reliability.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 25(a)raisedSubstance Misuse
AG ¶ 25(c)raisedIllegal Possession of a Controlled Substance
AG ¶ 25(f)raisedIllegal Drug Use While Granted Access to Classified Information

Mitigating

AG ¶ 32(a)rejectedTime Elapsed Since Criminal BehaviorThe applicant's last incident was in 2016, which was too recent to mitigate concerns.
AG ¶ 32(d)rejectedEvidence of Successful RehabilitationThe applicant's behavior in 2016 raised doubts about his reliability despite previous rehabilitation efforts.

Key Rule Quoted

“Any doubt concerning personnel being considered for national security eligibility will be resolved in favor of the national security.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedAug 15, 2018
Answer filedOct 12, 2018
Hearing heldJun 20, 2019
Decision dateJul 17, 2019

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Recent Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Credibility Issues Regarding Applicant's Claims of Drug Use
Impact of Multiple Arrests on National Security Eligibility Decisions

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline H (Drug Involvement) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on the drug involvement allegations, specifically regarding the possession of marijuana. The applicant admitted to using marijuana in college and acknowledged multiple arrests for marijuana possession, including one while holding a security clearance. The judge concluded that the applicant did not mitigate the security concerns under Guideline H.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
2.a	Applicant was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and concealing.	Against Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Not Applicable	Admitted	—	—	—

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline H). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.