PhD/PsyD Becoming a psychologist with arrest record

[honeybakedham]

Hey there! I'm new to this website, and I know there are a couple of threads with this same topic, but I have yet to see a thread with these specific questions and I'm really hoping y'all can help! TLDR at the end

So here's the deal... my friend got arrested when she was eighteen because she was caught smoking marijuana. She was charged with four felonies (they were all bs, but what can you do) and was accepted into a pretrial diversion program. She is currently enrolled in the program and once she completes it, all charges will be dropped and there will be no convictions. Her lawyer told her that the only thing that would remain on her record would be her arrest and it would show that the charges were dropped. She is very sorry for her actions, takes full responsibility, and has completely changed her life around. So her question is...

Is it possible for her to still become a licensed psychologist? She has done a lot of research on the topic and she seems to believe that it is not impossible but it will be difficult. Will she be able to get accepted into grad school? Or internships/practicum? Will she even be eligible for licensure? She is currently in college and trying to find internship and volunteer opportunities, but they have all turned her down due to her record and she is becoming very discouraged.

Any and all responses would really help and mean a lot!

TLDR: friend arrested and charged with four felonies, all charges will be dropped in a year. Can she still realistically pursue a career as a licensed psychologist?


Edit: turns out she was charged with four felonies because they searched her bag and found some other "dangerous substances" as well as her friend having "controlled substances" in the car that they were both charged with.

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[psych.meout]

How do you get charged with any felonies, let alone four, for smoking marijuana?

 

[honeybakedham]

How do you get charged with any felonies, let alone four, for smoking marijuana?

The friend she was with had other drugs in the car and didn't claim then, so they both got charged with those drugs.

 

[LM02]

I know someone who was convicted of a much more serious crime, also in youth, who is now on the path toward psychology licensure. This person had incredibly supportive mentors who addressed these issues directly in letters of support, which helped at each step of the way, and I believe the entire arrest/conviction were eventually expunged from their record.

 

[wtfook]

Once the year is out and her charges are dropped, she needs to have the records expunged. Once they are expunged, none of the records of the arrest or anything else will show up on background checks, including the FBI background checks typically acquired, especially for people who will be working with kids or federal organizations. When the charges are dropped, she also won't need to check "yes" on those questions that ask about criminal background. That is because they usually ask if you have been convicted of any crimes, which your friend has not. It's really sucks that your friend got tagged with so many charges simply for smoking some pot. You end up branding people who are at a pretty low risk to society compared to others who have a similar number of charges, but for more violent and damaging crimes.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel if your friend is in a program that allows the charges to be dropped and if she gets the arrest record expunged. Her lawyer can do that for her. I do say all this from personal experience. I was a pretty stupid college kid back in the day and though I was arrested for a misdemeanor, I was also able to get the charges dropped and the arrest record expunged. Since the expungement, no employer or school I've applied to, or mandatory background check I've ever had to get has ever come up with anything, and I've had no issues gaining employment in clinical settings or otherwise. I have a pretty wide sample size of states where I've gained employment as well, including most of the northern east coast, the southwest, and the midwest. I'll also be starting a doctoral program in the fall.

 

[honeybakedham]

I know someone who was convicted of a much more serious crime, also in youth, who is now on the path toward psychology licensure. This person had incredibly supportive mentors who addressed these issues directly in letters of support, which helped at each step of the way, and I believe the entire arrest/conviction were eventually expunged from their record.

Wow, that's great! Congratulations to them. This is very encouraging to hear, thank you so much. That's actually a very good point, she never really thought about that. So I guess it would be in her best interest to confide in some of her trusted mentors about her past? That way they could address her situation as well?

 

[honeybakedham]

Once the year is out and her charges are dropped, she needs to have the records expunged. Once they are expunged, none of the records of the arrest or anything else will show up on background checks, including the FBI background checks typically acquired, especially for people who will be working with kids or federal organizations. When the charges are dropped, she also won't need to check "yes" on those questions that ask about criminal background. That is because they usually ask if you have been convicted of any crimes, which your friend has not. It's really sucks that your friend got tagged with so many charges simply for smoking some pot. You end up branding people who are at a pretty low risk to society compared to others who have a similar number of charges, but for more violent and damaging crimes.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel if your friend is in a program that allows the charges to be dropped and if she gets the arrest record expunged. Her lawyer can do that for her. I do say all this from personal experience. I was a pretty stupid college kid back in the day and though I was arrested for a misdemeanor, I was also able to get the charges dropped and the arrest record expunged. Since the expungement, no employer or school I've applied to, or mandatory background check I've ever had to get has ever come up with anything, and I've had no issues gaining employment in clinical settings or otherwise. I have a pretty wide sample size of states where I've gained employment as well, including most of the northern east coast, the southwest, and the midwest. I'll also be starting a doctoral program in the fall.

Really?? Her lawyer told her that her charges would be expunged, but not her arrest. That was very upsetting to hear, and I personally find it hard to believe that there is absolutely no way to get rid of an arrest record... But you were able to successfully get the arrest itself expunged? That's fantastic! I will tell her to talk more with her lawyer and discuss her options. Hopefully there is a way that she can (at least somewhat) fix this. And yes, the whole situation was very unlucky and upsetting. She got caught up at the wrong place with the wrong person and now has to deal with those consequences forever.

 

[wtfook]

Really?? Her lawyer told her that her charges would be expunged, but not her arrest. That was very upsetting to hear, and I personally find it hard to believe that there is absolutely no way to get rid of an arrest record... But you were able to successfully get the arrest itself expunged? That's fantastic! I will tell her to talk more with her lawyer and discuss her options. Hopefully there is a way that she can (at least somewhat) fix this. And yes, the whole situation was very unlucky and upsetting. She got caught up at the wrong place with the wrong person and now has to deal with those consequences forever.

Yeah I'm not sure what the reasoning is for why she couldn't get her arrest expunged if I could. My lawyer pretty much filed the paperwork to have my arrest expunged the moment my charges were dropped. It's possible there are laws stating that certain arrests can't be expunged? I'm not sure. She could also consult other lawyers or even google it. Honestly, the internet is a wealth of knowledge where laws in their entirety could be found. It wouldn't hurt to exercise those future academia skills and do some personal research.

 

[psychRA]

My understanding of arrest records is that is very difficult to eliminate them, because most arrests are public record in the majority of cities and counties.

This wasn't as much of an issue in the pre-internet age, when anyone who wanted an arrest record would have to be invested enough to walk into the courthouse and ask for a copy. Even in areas where an arrest might show up in the local newspaper, the information may not spread beyond that local area. Now that the internet exists, though, it's much easier to access that information, and once it's online it stays there forever. This is actually a problem even in terms of having the charges themselves expunged; the court system essentially treats the offense as if it never happened, but that doesn't mean that 3rd parties (e.g., private background check companies, websites, etc.) have updated their records to reflect the expungement.

Here's a brief overview of the issue: Five Things You Didn’t Know About Clearing Your Record

 

[docjohng]

As long as she answers questions on an application truthfully the way they are worded, she will be fine (especially after getting her records expunged). Is a question is asked, "Have you ever been arrested for a felony crime?" however, she would need to answer honestly and say yes, as that arrest record is likely to remain no matter what.