You are correct rHinO1 that expungement varies from state to state. Which is why my first advise to hire an attorney.
And although you are correct that since the judge did dismiss my case, I was never convicted, I was however arrested and if I never applied to expunge my arrest record, whenever I apply for anything for the rest of my life when a question asks me if I have ever been arrested I will always have to say yes.
Second you can expunge an arrest or a conviction. I should know, I search my name under my state's criminal case search for 2 months straight until I couldn't find my name anymore. A simple search on wiki or a call to a law firm can define expungement.
"Eligibility for an expungement of an arrest, investigation, detention, or conviction record will be based on the law of the jurisdiction in which the record was made. Ordinarily, only the subject of the record may ask that the record be expunged. Often, the subject must meet a number of conditions before the request will be considered. Some jurisdictions allow expungement for the deceased.
Requirements often include one or more of the following:
- Fulfilling a waiting period between the incident and expungement;
- Having no intervening incidents;
- Having no more than a specified number of prior incidents;
- That the conviction be of a nature not considered to be too serious;
- That all terms of the sentence be completely fulfilled;
- That no proceedings be pending;
- That the incident was disposed without a conviction; and
- That the petitioner complete probation without any incidents
Third, when an expungement is granted, the person whose record is expunged may, for most purposes, treat the event as if it never occurred. Each jurisdiction whose law allows expungement has its own definitions of expungement proceedings. Generally, expungement is the process to "remove from general review" the records pertaining to a case. In many jurisdictions, however, the records may not completely "disappear" and may still be available to law enforcement, to sentencing judges on subsequent offenses, and to corrections facilities to which the individual may be sentenced on subsequent convictions.
Fourth, I was never convicted and hopefully mrsumster will never be convicted either so I never have to disclose any convictions.
There is a difference between arrest record and conviction record.
Private (non-government) entities are generally NOT allowed to ask for applicants arrest records. Residency programs are private entities. In fact, ERAS applications only ask if you were ever
convicted of any
felonies. You don't even have to answer "yes" if you were convicted of misdemeanors only. So, residency programs should not find out about your arrest record.
Now, state medical licensing boards are governmental entities. They can ask you for arrest records. Some do. Many only ask for conviction records.Now, even if the expungement removes the "conviction" or "arrest" record, the fingerprint trail remains. A nosy (or detail oriented) investigator will wonder why you were fingerprinted with no apparent reason attached to the trail, if the arrest disposition was removed.
The only reason I bring this up was because during my "stint with the law" I asked my lawyer many questions in regards to getting my record expunged. I was a nervous wreck and I wanted to make sure that it would not stop me from going to medical school becoming a doctor etc. My attorney in my state ( and I mention this because it is different from state to state) found a code that stated that once my state expunged my record and a government entity tried to utilize it in any way, the government was in fact breaking the state law and I could sue.
I search through my state's case database and I can't find my case anymore. Which should be the case because I am the public and the public should not be able to view cases that are expunged.
Again, this doesn't have to ruin your life. Get yourself a good attorney. Ask a lot of questions about arrest records, charges, expungement, licensing. Be nice to your lawyer and his staff and keep in touch with them. They will answer all sorts of questions that wake you up in the middle of the night. Get through the application process and if you need an attorney when you are applying for a medical license then you can jump through that hurdle when you get there. Get a smart lawyer. Don't get a conviction, beg and plead for community service. And get your records expunged.
