Help with all this criminal background check stuff?

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hatteapear

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Hey so midway through filling out all my secondaries I've remembered a citation I've been trying to forget about for a few years.

In my sophomore year ('08) I was having a water balloon fight with some friends outside of our house when were approached by the cops and cited. Turns out in my poor coordination a water balloon almost hit a car driving by and I was charged with a misdemeanor for throwing an object at a moving vehicle. For a lack of any better charges to charge my friends with they were charged with littering (note: we are NOT the type of people to litter at all, my best friend is actually in charge of our school's recycling program and were fully intending on cleaning up once done). I appeared in court looking very pathetic and ashamed and we explained what happened and the judge basically shook his head for the cops wasting his time and dropped all our charges to 'disturbing the peace' infractions, which we all plead guilty to and paid a $100 fine.

So now I'm filling out all these apps and some schools, such as Brown ask if we've ever plead guilty to a criminal offense. Now, I know an infraction isn't criminal but I was charged with the misdemeanor and I did plead guilty and received an infraction. Do you think this counts as pleading guilty to a misdemeanor? Should I list it?

Also, I called Certiphi because I thought I would just order a background check so I could see if that misdemeanor charge shows up even though I wasn't convicted and they said that I couldn't order a check until a med school requested one. Does anyone know of any other way of checking my record?

I'd appreciate any help, I'm kinda freaking out! Thanks!

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Hey so midway through filling out all my secondaries I've remembered a citation I've been trying to forget about for a few years.

In my sophomore year ('08) I was having a water balloon fight with some friends outside of our house when were approached by the cops and cited. Turns out in my poor coordination a water balloon almost hit a car driving by and I was charged with a misdemeanor for throwing an object at a moving vehicle. For a lack of any better charges to charge my friends with they were charged with littering (note: we are NOT the type of people to litter at all, my best friend is actually in charge of our school's recycling program and were fully intending on cleaning up once done). I appeared in court looking very pathetic and ashamed and we explained what happened and the judge basically shook his head for the cops wasting his time and dropped all our charges to 'disturbing the peace' infractions, which we all plead guilty to and paid a $100 fine.

So now I'm filling out all these apps and some schools, such as Brown ask if we've ever plead guilty to a criminal offense. Now, I know an infraction isn't criminal but I was charged with the misdemeanor and I did plead guilty and received an infraction. Do you think this counts as pleading guilty to a misdemeanor? Should I list it?

Also, I called Certiphi because I thought I would just order a background check so I could see if that misdemeanor charge shows up even though I wasn't convicted and they said that I couldn't order a check until a med school requested one. Does anyone know of any other way of checking my record?

I'd appreciate any help, I'm kinda freaking out! Thanks!

Go to your local police station. Have them do a criminal background check.

See what comes up.
 
Go to your local police station. Have them do a criminal background check.

See what comes up.
Thanks, that is a really good idea, I was trying to call the courts which is next to impossible!
My dad thinks that I only pleaded guilty to an infraction and that it shouldn't be a problem, so I hope he is right!
 
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wouldn't worry about it. there are people with much worse...
 
If you still have the court paperwork, it should tell you exactly what you were charged with. Local jurisdiction police should be able to pull it up, as well. Be sure it doesn't say "Class ## Misdemeanor" before you say that you were never charged with one.
 
If you still have the court paperwork, it should tell you exactly what you were charged with. Local jurisdiction police should be able to pull it up, as well. Be sure it doesn't say "Class ## Misdemeanor" before you say that you were never charged with one.
First, you CAN'T say you were never CHARGED with a misdemeanor, since you were in fact charged and appeared in court. You can say you were never convicted of or pleaded guilty to one if the disturbing the peace plea was an infraction and not a misdemeanor. As advised above, find the paperwork if possible, ask the police to check what shows up on your background, and call the school and ask them. The adcoms will probably laugh about the whole situation rather than hold it against you if it comes up in an interview. :luck:
 
First, you CAN'T say you were never CHARGED with a misdemeanor, since you were in fact charged and appeared in court. You can say you were never convicted of or pleaded guilty to one if the disturbing the peace plea was an infraction and not a misdemeanor. As advised above, find the paperwork if possible, ask the police to check what shows up on your background, and call the school and ask them. The adcoms will probably laugh about the whole situation rather than hold it against you if it comes up in an interview. :luck:

Thanks for the correction. My brain said convicted, my fingers said charged :laugh:
 
Thanks everyone! I'm going to head over to the police station right now! I do hope they laugh at it, it was such an innocent thing. Maybe it will work out to my benefit? Help me stand out from the other applicants haha
 
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