ISCR Case 06-20123.h1

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 06-20123.h1

grantedJun 20, 2008· Hon. Wilford H. Ross· hearing

Summary

A 43-year-old defense contractor was granted a security clearance despite concerns under Guideline J (Criminal Conduct) stemming from three criminal incidents over 25 years. The first two incidents occurred in 1983 when the applicant was 18, involving possession of marijuana and a house break-in with theft. For the marijuana possession, he performed community service in lieu of a $100 fine. For the break-in, he served eight months and 20 days of a 365-day jail sentence, paid a $2,000 fine, and the offense was later deemed a misdemeanor and dismissed.

The most recent incident occurred on August 11, 2006, when police, investigating a threat made by his partner's 11-year-old son, found a target rifle and ammunition in the boy's room. The applicant, who believed he could legally possess firearms, was arrested and charged with child endangerment, four counts of possessing a firearm while a felon, and two counts of unlawfully possessing a firearm. He pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully possessing a firearm, receiving three years of formal probation, a $200 fine, and two days in jail with credit for time served.

The clearance was granted because the applicant demonstrated significant rehabilitation and a long history of responsible behavior since his last criminal incident. The judge found that the 2006 offense occurred under unusual circumstances and was not indicative of his overall character. Additionally, numerous positive testimonials from co-workers supported his reliability and trustworthiness.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant demonstrated significant rehabilitation and a long history of responsible behavior since his last criminal incident.
The most recent offense occurred under unusual circumstances and was not indicative of the applicant's overall character.
Numerous positive testimonials from co-workers supported the applicant's reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 31(a)raisedCriminal Conduct
AG ¶ 31(d)raisedCurrently on Parole

Mitigating

AG ¶ 32(a)appliedTime Elapsed Since Criminal Behavior
AG ¶ 32(b)appliedEvidence of Successful Rehabilitation

Key Rule Quoted

“Criminal activity creates doubts about a person’s judgment, reliability, and trustworthiness.”
— AG ¶ 30

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedAug 31, 2007
Answer filedOct 23, 2007
Hearing heldApr 8, 2008Originally scheduled for March 18, 2008, but rescheduled due to a medical emergency.
Decision dateJun 20, 2008

Cite For

Mitigating Conditions Under Guideline J for Rehabilitation After Criminal Conduct
Consideration of the Whole Person Concept in Security Clearance Decisions
Impact of Unusual Circumstances on the Assessment of Criminal Behavior

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

¶	Allegation	Finding	Offense	Criminal disposition	Response	Disqualifying (¶31)	Mitigating applied (¶32)	Mitigation
1.a	The Applicant has had three criminal incidents in 25 years. The first criminal incident happened in February 1983. On that occasion the Applicant was cited with Possession of Less than One Ounce of Marijuana. He pled guilty and worked four days of community service in lieu of paying a fine of $100.00. The Applicant was 18 years old at the time.	For Applicant	Drug Related Criminal Charge	Conduct No Charge	Admitted	(a) pattern of minor offenses casting doubt on judgment/reliability (d) violation of parole/probation or failure to complete a court program	(a) so much time has passed, or unusual circumstances, that it is unlikely to recur (b) pressured/coerced and unlikely to recur absent that pressure	—
1.b	The Applicant’s next criminal incident happened a month later, in March 1983. He was still only 18 years old at the time. On this occasion the Applicant and a friend broke into a house and stole various items. He was quickly arrested for this incident. The Applicant subsequently went to court, was found guilty, and sentenced to a year formal probation, he served eight months and 20 days in jail of a 365 day sentence, and was fined $2,000.00. At the end of his probation period the Court entered an order deeming the offense to be a misdemeanor, probation was terminated, the guilty plea set aside and the case was dismissed.	For Applicant	Theft or Larceny	Conduct No Charge	Admitted	(a) pattern of minor offenses casting doubt on judgment/reliability (d) violation of parole/probation or failure to complete a court program	(a) so much time has passed, or unusual circumstances, that it is unlikely to recur (b) pressured/coerced and unlikely to recur absent that pressure	—
1.c	The Applicant’s last arrest occurred on August 11, 2006. On that day, the then 11 year old son of his partner got in an argument with a playground monitor and threatened to “blow up the school.” In a surplus of caution the police were called and brought the boy to the Applicant’s home. They asked for permission to search the boy’s room. In the room the police found a target rifle and ammunition that were stored there in preparation for the Applicant taking the youngster and his older brother out target shooting. As stated earlier, the Applicant had a good faith belief that there were no restrictions on his possessing firearms. He and his partner were arrested and charged with Child Endangerment. In addition, he was also charged with four counts of Possessing a Firearm while a Felon, and two counts of Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm. He plead guilty to one count of Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm and was sentenced to three years formal probation, $200.00 fine, two days in jail (with credit for time served) and not associate with the minor children of his partner, who lost custody of her minor children because of the offense.	For Applicant	Weapons Offense	Convicted	Admitted	(a) pattern of minor offenses casting doubt on judgment/reliability (d) violation of parole/probation or failure to complete a court program	(a) so much time has passed, or unusual circumstances, that it is unlikely to recur (b) pressured/coerced and unlikely to recur absent that pressure	—

Allegation

Finding

Offense

Criminal disposition

Response

Disqualifying (¶31)

Mitigating applied (¶32)

Mitigation

1.a

The Applicant has had three criminal incidents in 25 years. The first criminal incident happened in February 1983. On that occasion the Applicant was cited with Possession of Less than One Ounce of Marijuana. He pled guilty and worked four days of community service in lieu of paying a fine of $100.00. The Applicant was 18 years old at the time.

For Applicant

Drug Related Criminal Charge

Conduct No Charge

Admitted

(a) pattern of minor offenses casting doubt on judgment/reliability

(d) violation of parole/probation or failure to complete a court program

(a) so much time has passed, or unusual circumstances, that it is unlikely to recur

(b) pressured/coerced and unlikely to recur absent that pressure

—

1.b

The Applicant’s next criminal incident happened a month later, in March 1983. He was still only 18 years old at the time. On this occasion the Applicant and a friend broke into a house and stole various items. He was quickly arrested for this incident. The Applicant subsequently went to court, was found guilty, and sentenced to a year formal probation, he served eight months and 20 days in jail of a 365 day sentence, and was fined $2,000.00. At the end of his probation period the Court entered an order deeming the offense to be a misdemeanor, probation was terminated, the guilty plea set aside and the case was dismissed.

For Applicant

Theft or Larceny

Conduct No Charge

Admitted

(a) pattern of minor offenses casting doubt on judgment/reliability

(d) violation of parole/probation or failure to complete a court program

(a) so much time has passed, or unusual circumstances, that it is unlikely to recur

(b) pressured/coerced and unlikely to recur absent that pressure

—

1.c

The Applicant’s last arrest occurred on August 11, 2006. On that day, the then 11 year old son of his partner got in an argument with a playground monitor and threatened to “blow up the school.” In a surplus of caution the police were called and brought the boy to the Applicant’s home. They asked for permission to search the boy’s room. In the room the police found a target rifle and ammunition that were stored there in preparation for the Applicant taking the youngster and his older brother out target shooting. As stated earlier, the Applicant had a good faith belief that there were no restrictions on his possessing firearms. He and his partner were arrested and charged with Child Endangerment. In addition, he was also charged with four counts of Possessing a Firearm while a Felon, and two counts of Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm. He plead guilty to one count of Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm and was sentenced to three years formal probation, $200.00 fine, two days in jail (with credit for time served) and not associate with the minor children of his partner, who lost custody of her minor children because of the offense.

For Applicant

Weapons Offense

Convicted

Admitted

(a) pattern of minor offenses casting doubt on judgment/reliability

(d) violation of parole/probation or failure to complete a court program

(a) so much time has passed, or unusual circumstances, that it is unlikely to recur

(b) pressured/coerced and unlikely to recur absent that pressure

—

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Case Profile

Summary

Why the Applicant Prevailed

Conditions Referenced

Key Rule Quoted

Procedural Posture

Cite For

Full decision

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

APPEARANCES

STATEMENT OF CASE

FINDINGS OF FACT

POLICIES

ANALYSIS

WHOLE PERSON CONCEPT

FORMAL FINDINGS

CONCLUSION

FOOTNOTES