CBC not as clear as I thought...

[TwoBits]

So I received my criminal background check report today, and I noticed a misdemeanor from over 5 years ago, that I thought I had successfully expunged. Obviously not. The charge was for 'Alcoholic beverage possess by person under 21 years of age', but I never actually went through the real court system, as I received pretrial intervention. The notes box on the report states, "Please note that on [insert date] the defendant originally received pretrial intervention."

It was my first and last offense up until now. Never convicted, just paid a small fine, and did 8 hours of community service, and it was completely dismissed. I thought it had been expunged because since then, I have volunteered at multiple hospitals that require CBC (including children's hospital), and have worked at a government job, and nothing has ever come up.

Will this be an issue with medical schools? Should I send a letter to the school explaining the situation before they read it on my report? I am going to start working to expunge it, starting tomorrow, and hopefully it will get cleared soon. Let me know what you think... Thanks

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[colberag]

Expunged means that it does not count as an offense if you were to commit another crime (in other words, in the eyes of the legal system that charge does not exist). An expunged charge is still visible on background checks, though. I had a similar situation, got a minor in consumption charge at age 20 that was expunged because I took alcohol education classes. To this day (6 years later) it still shows up on background checks. I was honest on all of my secondary applications to med schools - I explained what happened and that it was expunged. It did not seem to be an issue for me, I got accepted at my first choice of school.

 

[CodeBlu]

So I received my criminal background check report today, and I noticed a misdemeanor from over 5 years ago, that I thought I had successfully expunged. Obviously not. The charge was for 'Alcoholic beverage possess by person under 21 years of age', but I never actually went through the real court system, as I received pretrial intervention. The notes box on the report states, "Please note that on [insert date] the defendant originally received pretrial intervention."

It was my first and last offense up until now. Never convicted, just paid a small fine, and did 8 hours of community service, and it was completely dismissed. I thought it had been expunged because since then, I have volunteered at multiple hospitals that require CBC (including children's hospital), as well as a government job, and nothing has ever come up.

Should this be an issue with medical schools? Should I send a letter to the school explaining the situation before they read it on my report? I am going to start working to expunge it, starting tomorrow, and hopefully it will get cleared soon. Let me know what you think... Thanks

I don't think that should be too much of a problem. There's plenty of people that have a minor in possession of alcohol charge that got into medical school. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't think that this will affect your admissions standing etc. However, I doubt that it will be removed from your record in time for the schools to see. I would write a letter explaining the circumstances.

If I'm not mistaken, the statement box about any offenses reads something like...

"You need not disclose an instance where you were charged, but not convicted" or something along those lines.

As long as you're not a kiddie porn enthusiast or child rapist like that Dale Dubin who wrote Rapid Interpretation of EKGs, I think you'll be fine.

http://www.scrubnotes.com/2007/09/dale-dubin-pornography-and-prison.html

 

[TwoBits]

An expunged charge is still visible on background checks, though.

Did not know this. I thought something expunged was completely removed. Thanks for the information.

And I never mentioned anything in the secondaries, nor did I check 'yes' for any of the AMCAS CBC questions, because none of them pertained to me. I think I might do as CodeBlu says and write a brief letter explaining the situation, accepting responsibility, and explaining what I learned from it.

 

[CodeBlu]

Did not know this. I thought something expunged was completely removed. Thanks for the information.

And I never mentioned anything in the secondaries, nor did I check 'yes' for any of the AMCAS CBC questions, because none of them pertained to me. I think I might do as CodeBlu says and write a brief letter explaining the situation, accepting responsibility, and explaining what I learned from it.

Don't trust the devil...

But yes, that seems wise. I wouldn't dwell on it too hard though. Explain the circumstances in which it occurred. Then go on to explain how you forgot about it since it was so long ago, and that you have not had anything on your record since then, and how you are better for it now... bla bla bla, you know the rest.

 

[SBR249]

OP, you may want to have a look at what exactly what expungement means in your state and whether you had in fact gotten your records expunged. IIRC, getting a case dismissed because of pretrial intervention may not always lead to automatic expungement, the latter being something that you apply for separately, sometimes after a period of good behavior.

Also, expungement usually means that your records are sealed and not available to anyone except perhaps the judicial system or law enforcement. It is possible that commercial sources do not always have updated information regarding expungements, etc because these criminal record databases are often sold in bulk. (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/us/17expunge.html?pagewanted=print)

 

[capn jazz]

my CBC decided one of my addresses (in Paris) was in Texas and proceeded to check my records in TX. Luckily they found nothing.

 

[JCTWP46]

Came in this thread expecting Complete Blood Count results...

 

[TwoBits]

OP, you may want to have a look at what exactly what expungement means in your state and whether you had in fact gotten your records expunged. IIRC, getting a case dismissed because of pretrial intervention may not always lead to automatic expungement, the latter being something that you apply for separately, sometimes after a period of good behavior.

Also, expungement usually means that your records are sealed and not available to anyone except perhaps the judicial system or law enforcement. It is possible that commercial sources do not always have updated information regarding expungements, etc because these criminal record databases are often sold in bulk. (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/us/17expunge.html?pagewanted=print)

So I called my state Department of Law Enforcement today, and they told me that they have no record of me getting the case expunged. So I will be starting this process next week. After all paperwork is received, it will take about 6 weeks for them to process it.

Which brings me to my next point. Can schools rescind an acceptance based on my circumstance I described in the original post? Do schools even need a reason to rescind an acceptance? I wouldn't think there is a rule to protect those that are accepted, but I don't know the ins and outs of this whole process. I just learned a few days ago about the May 15th deadline, and what it actually entails, so any comments are welcome.

Thanks

 

[EBTrailRunner]

So I called my state Department of Law Enforcement today, and they told me that they have no record of me getting the case expunged. So I will be starting this process next week. After all paperwork is received, it will take about 6 weeks for them to process it.

Which brings me to my next point. Can schools rescind an acceptance based on my circumstance I described in the original post? Do schools even need a reason to rescind an acceptance? I wouldn't think there is a rule to protect those that are accepted, but I don't know the ins and outs of this whole process. I just learned a few days ago about the May 15th deadline, and what it actually entails, so any comments are welcome.

Thanks

I think if you were to clearly articulate your situation to any schools where you've been accepted, they're going to be understanding and appreciative of your honesty. We're talking a minor offense to begin with that occurred over 5 years ago and a simple misunderstanding on your part. Those schools accepted you because they want you to attend. They're likely not going to rescind your acceptance over this.

 

[235788]

hmmm do you think an underage from age 17 would also show up? No trial or anything, was a minor?

Not that it would probably matter if it did, i was a minor.

 

[TwoBits]

hmmm do you think an underage from age 17 would also show up? No trial or anything, was a minor?

Not that it would probably matter if it did, i was a minor.

Not sure, but when I spoke to the expunge/seal dept today, they told me that there are two sets of forms: one for offenses that occurred as an adult, and one for those that occurred as a juvenile. Not sure if Certiphi checks juvenile records, but I didn't see any mention of that on my report.

 

[SoundofSilver]

You have nothing to worried about. You did not lie on any applications since you were never convicted and your charge was dismissed, so I'd say you're in the clear.