New Criminal Charges Not The Only Sanctions You Are Facing

As a student at the University of Delaware, you must also realize that in addition to the penalties previously listed, you may also be facing sanctions from the University of Delaware for violating its Code of Conduct for committing any criminal offense. Such sanctions are based on a "strike" system and the sanctions include the following: 1st strike - Disciplinary probation for one year, substance abuse education or referral to a substance abuse counselor, a $100.00 fine, and parental notification; 2nd strike - Deferred suspension from the University for one year, substance abuse referral, a $250.00 fine, and parental notification; 3rd strike - suspension from the University for one year, parental notification, and successful completion of a substance abuse treatment program. Please note that these sanctions reflect the minimum sanctions and the University may impose additional or different sanctions than these, based on the severity of the offense at the discretion of the Hearing Officer, Director of Judicial Affairs or his/her designee. For example, the U. of D. may impose more than one strike against you for one offense based on the severity of the offense (e.g., your BAC was .16 or more, your violation is a violation of the alcohol policy, or disruptive conduct.) For more information on U. of D.'s disciplinary sanctions, go to: http://www.udel.edu/stuguide/07-08/disciplinary.html, http://www.udel.edu/judicialaffairs/faq.html, and/or http://www.udel.edu/judicialaffairs/Violations06.pdf

If you were arrested by University of Delaware Police, the Office of Judicial Affairs will likely start proceedings against you immediately. If you were arrested by the Newark Police, the Office of Judicial Affairs will not start proceedings against you until they are notified by Alderman's Court #40 that you were convicted, or entered Probation Before Judgment in that Court. If you were not arrested by University of Delaware police and if your case is being heard in a court other than Alderman's Court #40, the Office of Judicial Affairs may likely never find out about this case; therefore, you may likely be facing no sanctions from them at all!

Probation Before Judgment

Many University of Delaware students are "first time offenders", having never been in trouble before with the law. Because of this, you may be eligible for Probation Before Judgment ["P.B.J."] pursuant to Newark Municipal Code Section 2-35.1. If you are offered P.B.J. for one (or more) of the offenses for which you are charged, the Court will accept your "guilty" or "no contest" plea and will then stay the entry of a conviction against you, defer further proceedings, and place you on a low level probation for a period of time. The terms and conditions of any P.B.J. shall include the following requirements: (a) you shall provide the Court with your current address; (b) you shall promptly provide the Court with written notice of any change of address; (c) you shall appear if summoned to any hearing concerning your P.B.J. status; (d) you give written consent to the Court permitting any hearing or proceeding to occur in your absence if (1) timely notice of the hearing or proceeding is sent or delivered to the address provided by you, and (2) you fail to appear at said proceeding; and (e) any other terms or conditions that the Court deems to be appropriate. Upon a violation of a term or condition of the Court's P.B.J. order, the Court may enter judgment of conviction against you and proceed with disposition of you as if you had not been placed on P.B.J..

If you are given Probation Before Judgment, this is generally an unsupervised probation that may usually range from 90 days to 6 months, with a maximum term of 1 year. At the end of the probation term, the Court will simply run your criminal record to make sure you incurred no new charges. Upon confirming that you have complied with all terms imposed upon you, the Court will then discharge your probation and dismiss your case. At that time, if you have never incurred any other criminal convictions, you may want to seek to have your criminal arrest record expunged in Superior Court pursuant to 11 Del.C. 4372. If you fail to have your criminal record expunged, the arrest will always be on your criminal record until you die.

Expunging Your Criminal Record

Pursuant to 11 Del.C. 4372, a person may file a Petition to Expunge their criminal record in the Superior Court if you have been charged with the commission of a crime and (1) you are acquitted, or (2) a nolle prosse is taken, or the charge is otherwise dismissed. Consequently, once your case is dismissed in Alderman's Court #40 after successfully completing a period of Probation Before Judgment, you may also file a Petition to Expunge your criminal record.

In your petition, you must proffer that "you have no prior criminal record" and that "the continued existence and possible dissemination of information relating to your arrest causes, or may cause, circumstances which constitute a manifest injustice to you." Consequently, if you have any other criminal record (besides the charges that you would like to be expunged), this Petition will not likely be granted.

It is very important to note that if you fail to file the Petition to Expunge your criminal record, the arrest will always be on your criminal record and any potential future employers will see this arrest upon obtaining a copy of your criminal record.

Office of Judicial Affairs

If you decide to retain me to represent you for your charge pending in Alderman's Court #40, I will do everything in my power to obtain a just result that you are pleased with. Unfortunately, I will not be able to assist you with the disciplinary process pending against you before the University of Delaware Office of Judicial Affairs. They simply do not allow private attorneys to get involved in that process.