Summary
A 41-year-old applicant's security clearance was GRANTED despite a history of criminal conduct, specifically Guideline J (Criminal Conduct). The Statement of Reasons detailed a 1988 state court conviction for three counts of cocaine trafficking, resulting in a nine-year suspended sentence with less than one year served. Additionally, the applicant was arrested in March 1995 for unlawful possession of methamphetamine but was found not guilty in June 1995.
Disqualifying conditions related to criminal conduct were initially raised. However, the judge applied mitigating conditions, noting the significant passage of time since the last criminal conduct and evidence of rehabilitation.
Crucially, the amendment of 10 U.S.C. § 986 altered the criteria for disqualification. Because the applicant's actual time served for the 1988 conviction was less than one year, it no longer served as a disqualifying factor under the revised statute. The judge also found that the applicant had successfully demonstrated rehabilitation and maintained abstinence from substance abuse since 1995, leading to the decision to grant the security clearance.
Why the applicant prevailed
- The applicant's actual time served was less than one year, which no longer disqualifies her under the amended 10 U.S.C. § 986.
- The applicant demonstrated successful rehabilitation and abstained from substance abuse since 1995.
- The judge found that the applicant's criminal conduct was not recent and had been mitigated by her subsequent behavior.
Conditions referenced
- CC DC E2.A10.1.2.1raisedAllegations or Admissions of Criminal Conduct
- CC DC E2.A10.1.2.2raisedA Single Serious Crime or Multiple Lesser Offenses
- CC DC E2.A10.1.2.3raisedConviction in a Federal or State Court
- CC MC E2.A10.1.3.1appliedThe Criminal Behavior Was Not Recent
- CC MC E2.A10.1.3.6appliedThere Is Clear Evidence of Successful Rehabilitation
- CC MC E2.A10.1.3.2rejectedThe Crime Was an Isolated IncidentThe judge concluded that the applicant's overall course of criminal conduct was not isolated.
Key rule quoted
“A person should not be held forever accountable for misconduct from the past when there is a substantial indication of subsequent reform, remorse, or rehabilitation.”
Procedural posture
- SOR issuedOct 23, 2003
- Answer filedNov 20, 2003
- Hearing heldN/ADecided on the written record.
- Decision dateDec 7, 2004
Cite for
- Application of Amended 10 U.S.C. § 986 Regarding Disqualification for Criminal Conduct
- Successful Rehabilitation and Its Impact on Security Clearance Eligibility
- Consideration of the Passage of Time in Evaluating Past Criminal Conduct