Hello. Almost 6 months ago I was arrested for a dui and charged with child endangerment given a minor was in the vehicle. I won’t make excuses. Worst thing I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve been doing A LOT of work on myself and my lawyer and I are hoping to plead much of it down, but I won’t have my first opportunity to do so until the end of next month. I am a government contractor and due to start a project at a new agency. I have to fill out an o-305 (I think is the form) for a public trust. I understand I have to provide all the details of the arrest, even though there has been no conviction yet and I’m hoping for a good outcome, and I am happy to do so. I have a couple of questions. 1) will I be able to get the clearance or will I be denied? 2) will the contracting officer know what I report in the forms to the security office of the agency (I don’t want to tarnish my company’s name in any way coming into this and would rather withdraw my role), 3) how much detail do I give (was thinking charges information and offer for any treatment documentation)
Pending charges cannot be adjudicated as the outcome is unknown and could include jail time. Also, child endangerment could be a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the prosecutor. Since you have yet to start the job, you would at some point have to disclose the charges on the SF-85P in eAPP. It would be reviewed by an adjudicator and they would have to determine whether to move forward with submitting it to DCSA to start the background investigation. Regardless of what you plea down to, it is the initial charge and conduct that led to it that is considered. Disclose exactly what happened, as an investigation will include the initial police report, so it should match with what your side of the story is. If you have completed any type of rehabilitation include that too.
As a lawyer handling a lot of DUI cases as well as security clearance defense, you’re not in an unusual situation, though the child endangerment charge does make this more serious. It sounds like you’ve done the right initial steps with hiring a good criminal defense lawyer and starting on treatment. You will have to report the charges, so even if it gets plead to reckless/negligent driving or something similar, the underlying facts will still be known to the government. However, a reduction in the charge plead to is some mitigation, as it presumably reflects your lack of similar history, involvement in treatment, and acceptance of responsibility.