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I've read seemingly every thread on this, even contacted my lawyer, and i'm still not sure how to answer this question: "Have you ever been arrested for a felony or misdemeanor?"
Nearly a decade ago, I was arrested for a DUI. I was never convicted because I was accepted to a pre-trial intervention. Eventually, the entire case was expunged and sealed. I asked my lawyer if it is in my legal right to declare that I've never been arrested, and I was told yes, that legally speaking, it as if my incident never occurred. Therefore, I am legally permitted to answer that question as 'no', according to my lawyer.
With that being said, the secondary question did not explicitly say anything about not answering if your record has been expunged. Additionally, I suffer from anxiety, and I'm worried that i'll be accepted by a school, and then will think 24/7 about the potential of them rescinding my offer based on legal technicalities. Similarly, I'm not sure if honor codes for medical schools are above the law (i.e. even though it's expunged, I'll be expected to be honest because that's how they want students to be). With that being said, even if a school did find out about this, if I can provide them with the email exchange with my lawyer, will that help my chances of not being dismissed (e.g. I am not a liar, my lawyer told me this was legally true).
Also, I've heard that schools ask about arrests primarily because they want to ensure you can do rotations at hospitals, but I can't imagine a hospital would not let me do rotations because of an expunged DUI nearly a decade ago.
So, simply put, should I answer this question with "yes" or "no". If you're unsure, what would you do if you were in my position? Or, should I call any individual school (anonymously? blocked number?) that asks this question and see what their policy is?
@gyngyn @LizzyM @Goro @Catalystik
Nearly a decade ago, I was arrested for a DUI. I was never convicted because I was accepted to a pre-trial intervention. Eventually, the entire case was expunged and sealed. I asked my lawyer if it is in my legal right to declare that I've never been arrested, and I was told yes, that legally speaking, it as if my incident never occurred. Therefore, I am legally permitted to answer that question as 'no', according to my lawyer.
With that being said, the secondary question did not explicitly say anything about not answering if your record has been expunged. Additionally, I suffer from anxiety, and I'm worried that i'll be accepted by a school, and then will think 24/7 about the potential of them rescinding my offer based on legal technicalities. Similarly, I'm not sure if honor codes for medical schools are above the law (i.e. even though it's expunged, I'll be expected to be honest because that's how they want students to be). With that being said, even if a school did find out about this, if I can provide them with the email exchange with my lawyer, will that help my chances of not being dismissed (e.g. I am not a liar, my lawyer told me this was legally true).
Also, I've heard that schools ask about arrests primarily because they want to ensure you can do rotations at hospitals, but I can't imagine a hospital would not let me do rotations because of an expunged DUI nearly a decade ago.
So, simply put, should I answer this question with "yes" or "no". If you're unsure, what would you do if you were in my position? Or, should I call any individual school (anonymously? blocked number?) that asks this question and see what their policy is?
@gyngyn @LizzyM @Goro @Catalystik
