job loss due to misdemeanor

[totoro]

this does not concern me directly, but i am attempting to find a forum for some advice for my nephew.

cannot give all the details, but wanted to post the generalities of it to see if any help might be obtained at this forum for him.

a few years ago he broke up with an off and on again girlfriend. to my knowledge he was not abusive to her, but do know she got a restraining order against him.

he told me that he saw her at a gas station. he did not approach her, but drove away. he noticed her in his rear view mirror. he said he stopped his car and she pulled up beside him and stopped. when she filed a complaint against him she said he had laughed at her and called her some names. not with the windows rolled down, but from mouthed them. he said he didn't call her any names, but he may have laughed and that probably made her angry.

she filed a complaint against him accusing him of laughing at him and calling her names. when he appeared in court he said the judge wouldn't even listen to his side to the event. the jydge having heard some prior case and according to him seemed to have a prejudiced view of him. the judge took the complaint at fact and his lawyer told him that since the court date was 9 months away he'd have to remain in jail til then or plead guilty. he chose to plead guilty instead.

now (a year later) he's gone thru a machinist traing school and had applied at a local factory starting at an entry level training position with a starting wage of 16 dollars an hour, but the company wont hire him because of the nature of the misdemeanor charge.

the attempted to see the courts about getting the misdemeanor expunged, but cannot get anyone to listen to him. he cannot afford a lawyer right now and so is stuck. the company says if he can get the mesdemeanor expunged he can have the job.

what can he do? does he have any options? i personally believe him (knowing somewhat of the girl) and hate to see him lose out on a good employment opportunity for something he did nothing (or at least very little) wrong.

thanks for any pointers!

 

[1luckicharm]

I doubt that the judge would have listened to a complaint based on name calling. He must have done something else like threatened her. When I got a restraining order against an ex, the judge wanted the recording on the telephone and the pictures of the caller id before he would issue a restraining order. My ex threatened to blow up my house among other things. You can't just get a restraining order for petty name calling. I would ask him what exactly did he did maybe he didn't remember doing some of the stuff or saying some of the stuff.

 

[totoro]

not quite

I doubt that the judge would have listened to a complaint based on name calling. He must have done something else like threatened her. When I got a restraining order against an ex, the judge wanted the recording on the telephone and the pictures of the caller id before he would issue a restraining order. My ex threatened to blow up my house among other things. You can't just get a restraining order for petty name calling. I would ask him what exactly did he did maybe he didn't remember doing some of the stuff or saying some of the stuff.

sorry I didn't make it clear. she didn't get the restraining order against for name calling. this couple had broken up and gotten back together so many times that I sort of washed my hands of it.
what got him into trouble and charge was after she'd gotten the order against him the incident at the gas station happened. it was after the order that she accused him of pulling over (but she pulled up and stopped beside him) and laughing at her. also called her names. that was the charge and he would have had to wait 9 months for trial so he plead guilty instead. now it's caused him to lose a good job. he'd like to get the charges expunged, but cannot afford a lawyer.
can they be filed by the individual (in indiana) and is there a simple form for doing it that can avoid a lawyer (which he cannot afford!)?

 

[calalily]

Do A Search

Go on line and search for Law for Expungement of misdemeanor in Indiana. Try different wordings until you find the laws. Usually there is a waiting period of a few years or more, so if it happened recently he probably won't be able to get it expunged. Also, usually expungement or sealing records is not done for people who pled quilty to a charge, but I am not positive about that. From what I know, it's typically for people who had to complete some kind of program before a final judgement is rendered and charges are dismissed upon successful completion of the program. So good luck, and I hope you find what you are looking for.