Felony was expunged but came back

[NewMex]

Jurisdiction

New Mexico

In 1998 at the age of 19 I was arrested for 2 counts of aggravated assault (4th degree felonies) for threatening to hit two people with a bat. I was given a deferred sentence and placed on 18 months of supervised probation. While on probation I was arrested for drinking under age. They did not revoke my probation and told me if I did a month of in patient rehabilitation my sentence would remain deferred. I did this and was allowed to leave the state to begin a new job and life. I continued to pay my restitution and go to AA meetings as required and completed my probation without any other problems. I was worried the felonies would not be removed but I was able to purchase firearms (5 total from 2000 to 2010) which all required FBI background checks as well as obtained a concealed weapon permit in 2009. At the end of 2015 I tried to purchase a shotgun and was denied. I requested the reason for denial and was given a case # that had a entry date of June 2011. I went to the courthouse and obtained a copy which showed an unsatisfactory discharge dated June 2000 that said I had 15 days to appeal. I never received any documentation on this because I would have definitely tried to appeal it. I think I could get my probation officer to confirm that I was supposed to remain deferred. Could I appeal this since it has been so many years now?

 

[army judge]

If you want to know the who, whst, where, why, and how; Imsuggest you discuss the matter with a couple local defense attorneys.

In a nutshell, such matters are expunged (which means semi-sealed) at the local/state level.

However, a state judge has no authority to order the FBI (or the Feds) to seal the arrest/conviction/trial records. The FBI takes no note of state expungement a, which are misleading anyway. You don't get a "Mulligan" or a "do over", insofar as crimes (especially felonies) are concerned.

The only way to cleanse the stay, remove the stench of a felony arrest/conviction is via a full pardon. This, mate, are rare are unicorn, big foot, and Elvis sightings.

So, the arrest and conviction will haunt you for the rest of your natural life, as far as the Feds are concerned.

By the way, you're a convicted felon.
You might want to get rid of any guns you have.
The state might look the other way, but the Feds rarely overlook anything.
In fact, when ATF isn't tat busy, they just might come a calling to retrieve your guns and arrest you.