Younger brother wants to try and get his CHL

[jiannichan]

GC 9411.172. ELIGIBILITY. (a) A person is eligible for a license to
carry a concealed handgun if the person:
(1) is a legal resident of this state for the six-month period
preceding the date of application under this subchapter or is otherwise
eligible for a license under Section 411 .I 73(a);
(2) is at least 21 years of age;
(3) has not been convicted of a felony

He wasn't an angel in his youth(15-18) now 27 years old.

I would guess the bold means no matter how long ago it's been right? I believe he's had a Class B misdemeanor (Agg assault brought down to Class B misdemeanor) as well but that has been about 8-10 years now and his felony (I think it was auto theft) is over 10 years, when he was around 15/16. If he was convicted of it, will it make him ineligible? He doesn't remember, but he said they may have tried him as an adult. He's contacted his lawyer as well, and will look into it, but unsure when he will be able to get back to him. Anyone able to chime in? Thanks!

jchan

[Keith B]

IANAL, but I believe for a felony charge they have to try you as an adult. If he has a felony conviction on his record, then he is ineligible; there is no expiration period.

[seamusTX]

I'm not up on the fine points of juvenile criminal law, but this clause may be applicable:

(14) has not, in the 10 years preceding the date of application, been adjudicated as having engaged in delinquent conduct violating a penal law of the grade of felony;

The dude needs to find out what final judgment was entered. If it was an adult felony conviction, he's going to have a lot of problems in life unless he can get a pardon.

- Jim

[jiannichan]

Jim: Thanks for the reply. He just sent an email to Gov Perry's office to see if he can try and see if he can get some help on getting it pardoned. I don't know if it will, but hopefully it can.

[Charles L. Cotton]

He needs to see 1) what the actual conviction was; 2) was the assault against a "family" member as that is defined at law; and 3) whether he was tried as an adult. If he was an adult, he's out of luck if:

• The assault constituted family violence as defined, regardless of the misdemeanor classification; or
  The conviction was for aggravated assault, regardless if it was a Class B at the time of conviction.

Aggravated assault (TPC §22.02) is now at least a second degree felony. Unfortunately, the eligibility language was changed recently in an attempt to help people convicted of felony offenses that are no longer classified as felonies. This primarily affected people convicted of what are now minor drug offenses back in the 60's and 70's. Even a single Marijuana joint was a felony back then. The language was changed to "at the time of the application" and should have been "both at the time of the conviction and at the time of application" but it wasn't. Now a few people are finding that old Class A and B Misdemeanors that were upgraded to a state jail felony or other felony are ineligible. This hit some people for the first time on renewal.

Chas.

Sec. 22.02. AGGRAVATED ASSAULT. (a) A person commits an offense if the person commits assault as defined in Sec. 22.01 and the person:

• (1) causes serious bodily injury to another, including the person's spouse; or
  (2) uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree, except that the offense is a felony of the first degree if:

• (1) the actor uses a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault and causes serious bodily injury to a person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code; or
  (2) regardless of whether the offense is committed under Subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2), the offense is committed:
  • (A) by a public servant acting under color of the servant's office or employment;
    (B) against a person the actor knows is a public servant while the public servant is lawfully discharging an official duty, or in retaliation or on account of an exercise of official power or performance of an official duty as a public servant;
    (C) in retaliation against or on account of the service of another as a witness, prospective witness, informant, or person who has reported the occurrence of a crime; or
    (D) against a person the actor knows is a security officer while the officer is performing a duty as a security officer.

Sec. 411.172. ELIGIBILITY.
(b) For the purposes of this section, an offense under the laws of this state, another state, or the United States is:

• (1) a felony if the offense, at the time of a person's application for a license to carry a concealed handgun:
  • (A) is designated by a law of this state as a felony;
    (B) contains all the elements of an offense designated by a law of this state as a felony; or
    (C) is punishable by confinement for one year or more in a penitentiary;
  and

[/list]

[jiannichan]

Chas:

Thanks for the reply. He spoke to a lawyer this morning and the lawyer told him that he can probably get those records "concealed", whatever that means. Is that something that can be done? How does that work as to being pardoned? Also, if it gets "concealed", what affect does that have on obtaining a CHL, if any? Thanks for everyones reply.

[seamusTX]

I will let Charles answer the legal question about sealing the record.

However, it seems your brother still does not know exactly what he was convicted of. Texas does not currently have an offense called car theft. Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle is always a felony. Burglary of a motor vehicle may be a misdemeanor or felony.

- Jim