CHL form question - arrest

[fredtubbs]

Hello all, thanks for this site, it's been a great resource and I'm now ready to take my CHL class.

Here is my question: when I was 17 I was arrested for squealing my tires in the mall parking lot - yes, I know, it's funny. I was handcuffed and brought to the police station. I was NOT photographed or finger printed. The charge wasn't even a misdemeanor, just a violation. I did appear before a judge and he conditionally dismissed the case as long as I didn't get in trouble for 6 month. It is now 20 years later, and no trouble to report.

So, should I report the arrest on my CHL application? And, do I need to offer any other kind of supporting documentation from the court when I mail in my packet?

I just want to make sure the application is done correctly.

Thanks for your help!

[seamusTX]

If you were not fingerprinted and photographed, you are not required to report the arrest on your CHL application.

It's likely after 20 years that no record could be found even if someone really looked hard.

What was the charge?

- Jim

[texasag93]

Exibition of Acceleration is my guess.

I did it a long time ago and had a bunch of tickets.

I now drive more conservatively.

If they held speeding against you from 20 years ago, I would be in trouble.

You may have been let off as it was in a parking lot. I had a friend from A&M who did the same thing, but it was a bike cop who tried to pull him over. He did not see the cop and he got grabbed for evading an officer. That caused a few problems.

texasag

[seamusTX]

Does Texas currently have an exhibition driving statute? I can't find one.

In a parking lot, the property owner or manager can make a criminal trespass complaint. The police have been known to arrest for criminal trespass without a complaint, but the charge won't stick.

In any case, without being "booked," juvenile, no conviction, it didn't happen.

- Jim

[sylus27]

Seamus -

I recall the form asking you to list "any arrest," I don't remember any qualifications for it. Where can I find information about "only fingerprinted/photographed arrests" having to be listed. I listed an arrest from when I was 16 although I wasn't fingerprinted or photographed just to be on the safe side. I assume you and everyone else are correct, I was just wondering where that info came from.

Thanks Jim

[seamusTX]

I am looking at the blue application instructions from DPS (printed form). Item 17, criminal history information, say, "Include information regarding any offense for which you were taken into custody by a law enforcement agency and fingerprinted ..."

The photographed part might be my faulty memory.

In any case, if you are arrested and booked, you will be fingerprinted and photographed.

- Jim

[Crossfire]

Your CHL instructor should have told you.

I don't know that it is written anywhere, but DPS has told instructors since the beginning that "no photo, no fingerprints" meant no arrest.

[texasmr2]

Hello all, thanks for this site, it's been a great resource and I'm now ready to take my CHL class.

Here is my question: when I was 17 I was arrested for squealing my tires in the mall parking lot - yes, I know, it's funny. I was handcuffed and brought to the police station. I was NOT photographed or finger printed. The charge wasn't even a misdemeanor, just a violation. I did appear before a judge and he conditionally dismissed the case as long as I didn't get in trouble for 6 month. It is now 20 years later, and no trouble to report.

So, should I report the arrest on my CHL application? And, do I need to offer any other kind of supporting documentation from the court when I mail in my packet?

I just want to make sure the application is done correctly.

Thanks for your help!

That is one thing that led to the delay in sending in my CHL application, as well as my application with a sheriff's dept, traffic ticket's that I was 'detained' for and thinking I was arrested. I was told personaly by Jan Coffey, manager of the DPS chl bureau, and that particular sheriff's dept that traffic ticket's or the failure to appear for them does not even need to be listed as you were only 'detained' and not arrested.

So to sum it up leave that section blank you will be just fine .

[srothstein]

Does Texas currently have an exhibition driving statute? I can't find one.

Look at the street racing section. It is sort of covered there. Transportation Code 545.420

[flintknapper]

I guess I just don't see it. Me thinks you got "hauled in" unlawfully.





§ 545.420. RACING ON HIGHWAY. (a) A person may not
participate in any manner in:
(1) a race;
(2) a vehicle speed competition or contest;
(3) a drag race or acceleration contest;
(4) a test of physical endurance of the operator of a
vehicle; or
(5) in connection with a drag race, an exhibition of
vehicle speed or acceleration or to make a vehicle speed record.
(b) In this section:
(1) "Drag race" means the operation of:
(A) two or more vehicles from a point side by side
at accelerating speeds in a competitive attempt to outdistance each
other; or
(B) one or more vehicles over a common selected
course, from the same place to the same place, for the purpose of
comparing the relative speeds or power of acceleration of the
vehicle or vehicles in a specified distance or time.
(2) "Race" means the use of one or more vehicles in an
attempt to:
(A) outgain or outdistance another vehicle or
prevent another vehicle from passing;
(B) arrive at a given destination ahead of
another vehicle or vehicles; or
(C) test the physical stamina or endurance of an
operator over a long-distance driving route.
(c) [Blank]
(d) Except as provided by Subsections (e)-(h), an offense
under Subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor.
(e) An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor
if it is shown on the trial of the offense that:
(1) the person has previously been convicted one time
of an offense under that subsection; or
(2) the person, at the time of the offense:
(A) was operating the vehicle while intoxicated,
as defined by Section 49.01, Penal Code; or
(B) was in possession of an open container, as
defined by Section 49.031, Penal Code.
(f) An offense under Subsection (a) is a state jail felony
if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person has
previously been convicted two times of an offense under that
subsection.
(g) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the third
degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that as a result of
the offense, an individual suffered bodily injury.
(h) An offense under Subsection (a) is a felony of the
second degree if it is shown on the trial of the offense that as a
result of the offense, an individual suffered serious bodily injury
or death.

[fredtubbs]

Thanks all for the great feedback. Seems to me that I could leave the section blank. Would it be a problem for me if I entered the arrest information anyway, just in case?

[seamusTX]

Yes, it could be a problem. DPS wants to see the disposition of every arrest, and you may not be able to produce it.

- Jim

[fredtubbs]

So, if I include it then I need to include the court record?

[seamusTX]

Yes. They will not just take your word for it that you were not convicted, or that the record was expunged. If you can't produce a disposition, you will need a letter from the clerk of the court saying that they have no record.

- Jim

[srothstein]

I guess I just don't see it. Me thinks you got "hauled in" unlawfully.

This is the current law. It was changed about 6 year ago when there was a lot of commotion in the media over kids getting killed street racing. Before that, we had a straight law forbidding exhibition of acceleration. It was a class C misdemeanor and was most commonly used for people who squealed the tires pulling away from a light.

Here is the new section:

§ 545.420. RACING ON HIGHWAY. (a) A person may not
participate in any manner in:
(1) a race;
(2) a vehicle speed competition or contest;
(3) a drag race or acceleration contest;
(4) a test of physical endurance of the operator of a
vehicle; or
(5) in connection with a drag race, an exhibition of
vehicle speed or acceleration or to make a vehicle speed record.

(b) In this section:
(1) "Drag race" means the operation of:
(A) two or more vehicles from a point side by side
at accelerating speeds in a competitive attempt to outdistance each
other; or
(B) one or more vehicles over a common selected
course, from the same place to the same place, for the purpose of
comparing the relative speeds or power of acceleration of the
vehicle or vehicles in a specified distance or time.
[/quote]

And don't forget that the "on highway" in the title is meaningless. The elements of the offense are what is in the body of the law and the title doesn't necessarily indicate anything about the law.