Criminal charges

[chasingzion]

Hi,
This is strictly for people who actually KNOW what theyre talking about, people who have been in similar circumstances or know of someone that has either been rejected or accepted based off of their background.

I have charged with crimes that I had not committed. I will give you a run down.

2012 - Battery. (Not Guilty)
2012 - Assault with a deadly weapon (Case Dropped)
2012 - Assault with a motor vehicle (Case Dropped)
2012 - Aggrevated stalking (Case Dropped

Btw, these charges all stemmed from the same arrest.
To sum it up, my exboyfriend and his best friend teamed up against me and wrote phony statements that led to me being arrested. (He was jealous because I had gotten pregnant by someone else after we broke up) I total douche bag I know. Anyway, all of the charges were dropped and in one charge I was actually found not guilty.

I aspire to be a pediatrics radiologist one day, and I worry that the nature of these charges will make med schools and employers reluctant to hire me. Will they only look at the final disposition on the charges or will they look at these charges and be afraid to hire me? Its crazy what happened to me, and its even crazier when I have to explain that I got all of these charges because of an evil vindictive ec boyfriend ....but its the truth and unfortunately I can't make these charges go away....even though I was never actually found guilty or convicted of any of these crimes.
And its REALLY sucks (
I feel like he ruined my life and my dreams of being a physician

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[23premes]

Wow, I don't know how this changes things, but that sucks! Sorry to hear this. Might wanna get an attorney and talk to them to see how this shows up on your record.

 

[chasingzion]

Wow, I don't know how this changes things, but that sucks! Sorry to hear this. Might wanna get an attorney and talk to them to see how this shows up on your record.

It shows up on my record just how I typed it in the original post

 

[VolunteerMoose]

Actions speak louder than words. What have you done since 2012 to rehabilitate your image?

 

[chasingzion]

Actions speak louder than words. What have you done since 2012 to rehabilitate your image?

Ive just been going to school full time

 

[deleted480308]

hopefully goro, gyngyn, or LizzyM will show up (all adcoms) but you don't actually have a record....you have accusations that a court decided were not substantial so I hope this is not a negative for you

 

[VolunteerMoose]

Are you ready for the bad news..... There isnt any

Are you ready for the good news... arrests dont matter (mostly) only convictions. Since all charges were dropped and/or found not guilty it shouldnt be any issue, nor would it be legal for any school or job to bar you from activity.

As the AMACS instruction says

"You must answer this question in the application: Have you ever been convicted of, or
pleaded guilty or no contest to, a Felony crime, excluding 1) any offense for which you we
adjudicated as a juvenile or 2) convict ions which have been expunged or sealed by a court
(in states where applicable)"

This may come up after acceptance on a criminal background check and may you be asked to write information on it. And all I would write is no more than the facts,

a false police report filed by an ex significant other with the result that all charges were dropped and/or found not guilty of .

Your dreams remain wholly intact

are you sure about this? Unless you're a practicing lawyer, you have no clue what is or isnt legal for a medical school to do regarding admissions. once that arrest record comes up post acceptance, all bets are off.

Employers refuse to hire based on arrest records all the time. the fact that you think this is illegal makes me question your judgment.

 

[deleted480308]

are you sure about this? Unless you're a practicing lawyer, you have no clue what is or isnt legal for a medical school to do regarding admissions. once that arrest record comes up post acceptance, all bets are off.

Employers refuse to hire based on arrest records all the time. the fact that you think this is illegal makes me question your judgment.

I think you are wrong, moose.....for instance, in new york http://www.lac.org/doc_library/lac/publications/CriminalRecordsAndEmployment.pdf

 

[VolunteerMoose]

Ive just been going to school full time

look, whatever the facts may be, try to demonstrate it was an isolated incident. volunteer work, community service, church involvement. i am going to go on a limb and say the vast majority of med school applicants have never been arrested and even more have never been adjudicated on criminal charges.

 

[VolunteerMoose]

I think you are wrong, moose.....for instance, in new york http://www.lac.org/doc_library/lac/publications/CriminalRecordsAndEmployment.pdf

i could be wrong. It may be a grey area.

 

[Esquire]

1. No one's perfect, but unfortunately crazy relationship problems & arrests can rightly or wrongly be viewed as having poor judgment.

Imagine you just received a multi-million dollar contract (that can be terminated for any reason) to cover a hospital and you need to hire another radiologist. Why would you hire someone whose background check comes back with the words, "assault with deadly weapon" & "stalking" when there are 49 other applicants with clean records?

2. Legality is a moot point. Most employers are too savvy to ask direct questions or document why someone was not hired. Moreover, employment laws do not apply to med school admissions, licensing, hospital privileges, or getting approved by insurance panels. Inability to obtain licensing, hospital privileges, or insurance paneling are all legit grounds for an employer to reject or fire someone.

 

[chasingzion]

You have a point, which is what I was afraid of. Regardless of whether I was actually convicted or not, the charges are ugly and they are in fact on my record ( oh well. All I can do is go through the motions and try anyway. Hopefully I wont be doing all this hard work for nothing.

but at the end of the day Im still going to try.

 

[Goro]

Even if the primary apps don't ask for them, secondaries will ask for arrests and convcitions. Just be truthful.

I'm not a lawyer, but making a phony complaint against you could be a crime, and definitely sounds like it's suable.

Hi,
This is strictly for people who actually KNOW what theyre talking about, people who have been in similar circumstances or know of someone that has either been rejected or accepted based off of their background.

I have charged with crimes that I had not committed. I will give you a run down.

2012 - Battery. (Not Guilty)
2012 - Assault with a deadly weapon (Case Dropped)
2012 - Assault with a motor vehicle (Case Dropped)
2012 - Aggrevated stalking (Case Dropped

Btw, these charges all stemmed from the same arrest.
To sum it up, my exboyfriend and his best friend teamed up against me and wrote phony statements that led to me being arrested. (He was jealous because I had gotten pregnant by someone else after we broke up) I total douche bag I know. Anyway, all of the charges were dropped and in one charge I was actually found not guilty.

I aspire to be a pediatrics radiologist one day, and I worry that the nature of these charges will make med schools and employers reluctant to hire me. Will they only look at the final disposition on the charges or will they look at these charges and be afraid to hire me? Its crazy what happened to me, and its even crazier when I have to explain that I got all of these charges because of an evil vindictive ec boyfriend ....but its the truth and unfortunately I can't make these charges go away....even though I was never actually found guilty or convicted of any of these crimes.
And its REALLY sucks (
I feel like he ruined my life and my dreams of being a physician

 

[chasingzion]

The other thing is I have seen several secondaries ask what has been the most difficult experience you have faced. This certainly may fit in that category and would serve not to simply answer the question, but get this out here in a positive way, if that makes sense? What brought this to mind was a student who had lost a job, had their husband ask for a divorce (the week before finals) and get a house foreclosed on while in post-bacc and answered that difficult situation question with that.

Just a thought

This is GREAT ADVICE. Thank you so much. I will consider this when the time comes . Awesome.

 

[CajunMedic]

Be ready to talk about it in interviews. I had several misdemeanor convictions and I was asked about them in detail (even with shocked looks from the interviewer). You also may want to go ahead and do the digging with the medical licensing authority in the states you want to work/do rotations/do residency in and ensure that they are not disqualifying for a license (I kept that in my back pocket and discussed it during the interview when asked about my record). Ultimately, I was accepted.

It's doable, it may take a lot of hard work and time but don't give up!

 

[QofQuimica]

1. No one's perfect, but unfortunately crazy relationship problems & arrests can rightly or wrongly be viewed as having poor judgment.

Imagine you just received a multi-million dollar contract (that can be terminated for any reason) to cover a hospital and you need to hire another radiologist. Why would you hire someone whose background check comes back with the words, "assault with deadly weapon" & "stalking" when there are 49 other applicants with clean records?

2. Legality is a moot point. Most employers are too savvy to ask direct questions or document why someone was not hired. Moreover, employment laws do not apply to med school admissions, licensing, hospital privileges, or getting approved by insurance panels. Inability to obtain licensing, hospital privileges, or insurance paneling are all legit grounds for an employer to reject or fire someone.

This.

OP, no one can answer your question definitively, because you're essentially asking a question about the human psyche. Do we practice the philosophy of "innocent until proven guilty," or do we merely preach it? I spent four years on my med school's adcom and participated in many debates about controversial applicants, which you will definitely be. While no one would have ever questioned the idea that people who are arrested are innocent until proven guilty in theory, medicine is a conservative profession. For this reason, unfortunately, many members of the adcom would prefer to not take chances on someone like you, even though you were never convicted of anything. And realistically, the admissions process is competitive enough that they wouldn't have to take that chance. Even if it's technically illegal to judge you based on your record, the admissions process is also subjective enough for an adcom with prejudice against you to find other rationales to give. Or to just provide none at all.

The best advice I can give you is to answer all questions on your apps honestly, especially since you know the arrests will show up on a background check. Then apply broadly when the time comes. In the whole scheme of things, you only need one school to give you a chance, not all 200 of them. Also, you didn't say when you were planning to apply, but time is your friend. In other words, a bunch of arrests ten years ago with a clean record since then would be much less alarming to the people reviewing your record than a bunch of arrests ten weeks ago would be.

Hope this helps, and best of luck.

 

[Legally Insane]

I think that it would be worthwhile to seek legal advice to see if it is possible to have the arrests expunged from your record. Most states have a procedure to erase arrests such as yours from the record. Your circumstances should support a petition to expunge the arrest records. In Texas, an expungement entitles a person to state that he has never been arrested -- legally the arrest never happened. And yes, I am a lawyer.

 

[Slev]

I went through something sort of similar two years ago when I was applying. I had my identity stolen - I lost my wallet and the jerk who found it looked enough like me to start using my drivers license as his own and when he got in trouble with the police he always gave them my ID. The worst of it luckily was being charged with shoplifting that I was later able to get the district attorney to drop when (for the millionth time) I explained the situation to them. But I did have to apply to medical school having been recently charged with a crime. Gonnif is correct in that for AMCAS you do NOT have to list anything unless you were found guilty or plead guilty/no contest. I would definitely not disclose any dropped charges or not guilty verdicts on my AMCAS (though I would carefully read the AMCAS rules on this yousrelf in case they've changed over the last couple of years). The problem is that some schools (I ran across maybe 3 in the 20 or so I applied to) will request on their secondary that you disclose ANY charges that have been filed against you regardless of the circumstances or final outcome. I find this to be pretty ridiculous since people do get falsely accused of crimes and we are supposed to be innocent until proven otherwise... but that's not how the real world works. I don't think disclosing the charges though had any impact on my application since I was always given a chance to explain them in the secondary. Some schools I disclosed to gave me an interview, some didn't. If they ask for all charges on a secondary you should disclose them at that point with a very concise explanation (sometimes there is a ridiculously small word limit for an explanation)

As far as background checks later in the process... at that point you'll have an acceptance in hand. I believe it's generally the policy of schools where if they find something on your background check that concerns them, they give you the chance to explain before they reverse their decision or let you appeal any reversal of acceptance. Given the circumstances I would think you'd have no problem. I also highly doubt it will come to that - A no guilty verdict + dropped charges should not be a problem when it comes time for a background check. I'm not even sure it will come through on the type of background check that a majority of the schools use. My dropped charges did not come through on the normal acceptance background check and it was never caused a problem with any of my acceptances.

 

[chasingzion]

Thank you, everyone, for your input.
I have entertained the idea of getting my record expunged but to even apply at jobs like McDonald's....they ask you to list all charges whether expunged or sealed so it defeats the purpose to pay $700.00 per charge to be expunged

 

[chasingzion]

I think that it would be worthwhile to seek legal advice to see if it is possible to have the arrests expunged from your record. Most states have a procedure to erase arrests such as yours from the record. Your circumstances should support a petition to expunge the arrest records. In Texas, an expungement entitles a person to state that he has never been arrested -- legally the arrest never happened. And yes, I am a lawyer.

I live in Florida. I've done a lot of research on record expunges . In Florida, you are only eligible to expunge ONE charge.
Yea, I know. Thats BS !

 

[chasingzion]

It is not a grey especially in New York as the link above definitively states

CRIMINAL RECORDS AND EMPLOYMENT

WHAT MAY EMPLOYERS ASK ABOUT MY CRIMINAL RECORD?

It is illegal for most employers and licensing agencies in
New York to ask about arrests that were not followed by a
conviction. “Have you ever been arrested?” is an illegal
question under New York law.


It is also illegal to ask about:

Dismissed cases that were terminated in your favor-
including acquittals, declines to prosecute, and voided
arrests

Maybe I need to move to NewYork to stand a chance lol.
Here, in Florida, they ask about any time you were arrested, whether the case was dropped, expunged, or sealed.

 

[chasingzion]

Even if the primary apps don't ask for them, secondaries will ask for arrests and convcitions. Just be truthful.

I'm not a lawyer, but making a phony complaint against you could be a crime, and definitely sounds like it's suable.

Writing false statements are against the law .
A few months after I was arrested, he text my phone with a bunch of "apologies" and told me how he was wrong for what he did.
I saved the text messages and called the police. Guess what they told me?

"There's nothing we can do about it. You were arrested, the charges were dropped. The courts will look at it as no harm done"

When I said "Well, he's actually admitting to committing a crime by filing a false police report! You can't arrest him for that?"

The officer said "Unfortunately, a text message will not stand in the court of law. He could say that someone else used his phone to send that text message"

So yeah... no help there.

I don't know what to do. He scarred me for life and it seems like there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to have to suck it up, try to kick ass in my science and math classes, and pray to God that my grades will outshine the dark side of my past.

 

[ShutUpAndDoIt]

"He scarred me for life and it seems like there's nothing I can do about it."

You had a hand in it by choosing him. Own it and be honest. Access to expunged/juvenile records is not hard to come by. What can you do about it? Exactly what you said--kick ass at life, learn from it, and be more discerning about future relationships. I have a similar charge to explain, a DVO from age 19. I scratched someone's arms with my wee fingernails while trying to pry their hands off my throat. What did I learn? I could give a three hour lecture. Keep moving forward and rack up a spotless application, and consider volunteering with domestic violence victims via a shelter, etc., to boost your learning curve and explanation of the charges. Trying to manipulate the system will likely cost a lot of dough, be fruitless, and backfire in the end.

 

[Goro]

Ahh, nothing like blaming the victim. God help any rape victims that come into your ER or office. OP, you can sue the guy, I suppose. As always, ask an attorney.


You had a hand in it by choosing him. Own it and be honest. Access to expunged/juvenile records is not hard to come by. What can you do about it? Exactly what you said--kick ass at life, learn from it, and be more discerning about future relationships. I have a similar charge to explain, a DVO from age 19. I scratched someone's arms with my wee fingernails while trying to pry their hands off my throat.

 

[ShutUpAndDoIt]

Because two losers colluding to press false charges against someone is just like rape. Yes, God help anyone in my sphere.

ETA: My point is the blaming language. If she chose to hang out with a few pals who smoked weed and found herself with a charge because they got pulled over together and her buds were holding, would you make the same assessment? Tossing rape out there is extreme. The quality of your company matters.

 

[QofQuimica]

OP, I don't know how serious you are about leaving FL, but I'd advise against it. There aren't too many other states that have more state med schools with most of the seats protected for state residents than FL does. Now that I'm realizing you are the same person who was asking about Valencia, I'd urge you more than ever to call the UCF med school admissions office for some pre-app counseling.

 

[chasingzion]

Because two losers colluding to press false charges against someone is just like rape. Yes, God help anyone in my sphere.

ETA: My point is the blaming language. If she chose to hang out with a few pals who smoked weed and found herself with a charge because they got pulled over together and her buds were holding, would you make the same assessment? Tossing rape out there is extreme. The quality of your company matters.

I understand what your saying about the blaming language. Ive been thinking about what you said all day. You're right.
Even though, you never really know how much of an dingus someone is until they decide to take their representative mask off and before you know it, you're in the lion's den. However, it is time to just assume the responsibility. There were plenty of red flags about his personality before it came down to that day.
When my time comes to sit before an adcoms, my best bet is to assume responsibility rather than say "well its my exboyfriends fault"

 

[ShutUpAndDoIt]

You can use this experience as a springboard and turn a negative into a solid positive through educating yourself if you choose that route. At the end of the day, you weren't found guilty, and *I believe* you can remedy the issue (though don't rely on what I believe at all). I'm not saying everything will be fine--the adcoms get my supreme high vote for advice--but you can lower your character and try to manipulate, or stick to whatever options are above board and prove to the best of your ability that this incident does not define you or your morals/ethics/judgment. We all do stupid crap (Ser. I. Ous. Ly. Including all the turds who don't get caught), and once in a while, someone else's stupid crap sticks to us like glue. I'm actually very impressed by your response to what I said. That shows ownership.

But don't ignore the advice about pre-app counseling, applying widely, state laws, etc.! You've been given a lot of great info.

 

[ShutUpAndDoIt]

Maybe it's because I'm new, but I'm clearly not understanding the rebukes. I also question the assumption that anyone is a, "little snot-nose, wet-behind-the-ears, punk." I know there's a general *new kids* level of crap that comes with the old school members of any message board, but I assumed better because of the professional qualifications I thought I would find here. A better tactic would be telling the OP where I misjudged the situation specifically because it could also be a learning experience for the OP, myself, and anyone who reads the thread hereafter.

 

[futureboy]

Writing false statements are against the law .
A few months after I was arrested, he text my phone with a bunch of "apologies" and told me how he was wrong for what he did.
I saved the text messages and called the police. Guess what they told me?

"There's nothing we can do about it. You were arrested, the charges were dropped. The courts will look at it as no harm done"

When I said "Well, he's actually admitting to committing a crime by filing a false police report! You can't arrest him for that?"

The officer said "Unfortunately, a text message will not stand in the court of law. He could say that someone else used his phone to send that text message"

So yeah... no help there.

I don't know what to do. He scarred me for life and it seems like there's nothing I can do about it. I'm just going to have to suck it up, try to kick ass in my science and math classes, and pray to God that my grades will outshine the dark side of my past.

I think they could bring charges against him/them, but the police don't want to be bothered.

 

[futureboy]

I live in Florida. I've done a lot of research on record expunges . In Florida, you are only eligible to expunge ONE charge.
Yea, I know. Thats BS !

I'm a lawyer, but not in Florida. Something doesn't seem right - it doesn't make sense that you can expunge only one arrest or charge that results in dropped charges or an acquittal (not guilty verdict). My state until recently only allowed one CONVICTION to be expunged, but there were no limits on arrests not leading to a conviction. PLEASE see an attorney about this before you come to any conclusions. Make sure the attorney does a lot of criminal defense and is up on the law regarding expungements.

 

[ShutUpAndDoIt]

Classy, G. I'm almost too humble to bring up grammar because I know better. I'm sure a licensed SAC with a great track record means nothing to you, but it pulls the whole, "You have absolutely any understanding," weirdness off the table if I'm guessing.

Edit: Your edit....boom.

 

[futureboy]

Nothing with you being new, and I am byfar the "oldest" member on the board in years of age at least. My tactic here is slap you across the face period, something I almost never do in on boards I participate in, boards I run, students I advise, or to colleagues. Do you have absolutely any understanding of the rational misrepresentation, the emotional stress, and thus the ethical issues your comments and style raise?
You stomped on someone by not only blaming them for being abused by another and made them believe it.

You are simply an ass and a piece of ****.

Please remove the picture of the gorilla. They are a noble peaceful species and you insult them with the connection to yourself

Actually perhaps you change your screen name to "ADoltWhoShouldShutUp"

I think you're way over the top here. I don't agree with everything said, but ShutUp makes a fair point that we have to be careful about our associations, and that we bear at least some responsibility for bad associations. The OP even agreed that there were some red flags about the ex bf. Let's take it easy...

 

[chasingzion]

I'm a lawyer, but not in Florida. Something doesn't seem right - it doesn't make sense that you can expunge only one arrest or charge that results in dropped charges or an acquittal (not guilty verdict). My state until recently only allowed one CONVICTION to be expunged, but there were no limits on arrests not leading to a conviction. PLEASE see an attorney about this before you come to any conclusions. Make sure the attorney does a lot of criminal defense and is up on the law regarding expungements.

Maybe youre right, I could've been wrong. It might be a limit on getting one conviction expunged, as opposed to dropped charges. But I'm pretty sure I remember reading that if the final disposition led to an actual conviction, that case is not eligible for an expunge. Florida law is.....*no comment*
But by all means, correct me if im wrong. Honestly, unless I use financial aid refunds...I dont have the money to consult with an attorney.
Even if I did, applications still ask to disclose whether you've been arrested regardless of the final disposition or whether your record has been expunged or sealed.
Perhaps, if I get some down time in studies, I will look deeper into this. Regarding whether or not it can be expunged. The fact that the charges could still pop up even if I get my record expunged was a bit intimidating. Im thinking...well what is point of getting it expunged if theres a possibility it will still show up? Lol

 

[futureboy]

Trying to manipulate the system will likely cost a lot of dough, be fruitless, and backfire in the end.

Seeking an expungement for unfounded charges and arrests is NOT manipulating the system. Expungements are designed to protect people like the OP from the taint of false criminal allegations.

 

[chasingzion]

I think you're way over the top here. I don't agree with everything said, but ShutUp makes a fair point that we have to be careful about our associations, and that we bear at least some responsibility for bad associations. The OP even agreed that there were some red flags about the ex bf. Let's take it easy...

There were red flags ....
Jealousy being the big one.
Did I ever expect that he would actually stoop so low and do what he did? He looked me dead in the eye as I was crying my eyes out in the back of that police car, and still continued to write that report. Did ever think he'd be so cold hearted ? No. Never in a million years.
Not to mention, we were already broken up when this happened. I was in a new relationship and pregnant.
But one thing that I've come to realize since I made this thread is that.... I just have to come harder with my application.
Im not just going to sit around and wallow in misery, then id truly be giving him the victory. Im going to give it all ive got

 

[ShutUpAndDoIt]

AMCAS (2013) has definitions, making this all moot unless there have been changes.

I have heard that, even with record expungement, arrest and conviction data remains
searchable. (As a result, we advise applicants to always divulge any history, whether
“expunged” or not.) Have you heard anything about this searchable data as a potential issue?

AMCAS, of course, does not control what items may appear on the applicant’s criminal background
check report. A search-by-search description is available on our Web site. Applicants should follow the
guidelines provided for answering the Misdemeanor and Felony questions accurately, regardless of
what may appear on the criminal background check report. Applicants have ten calendar days to review
the final background check report before it is released to medical schools.

I get the honesty prompt, obvs. And anyone can do their best to clean up a previous record, but are there any guarantees?

 

[futureboy]

if the final disposition led to an actual conviction, that case is not eligible for an expungement

That may be true, but you said all charges were dropped except one, and you were found not guilty on that one. If your school has a law school, their legal clinic may be able to help you. If not, check out nearby law schools or legal aid/public defenders' offices. An expungement generally gives you the right not to disclose, except for professional license applications like law or medicine (not job or school apps). If you get through med school, you're not likely to be denied a license based on what will be (then) at least 6 year old unfounded charges. Again, a FL atty should be able to help you with this.

 

[chasingzion]

That may be true, but you said all charges were dropped except one, and you were found not guilty on that one. If your school has a law school, their legal clinic may be able to help you. If not, check out nearby law schools or legal aid/public defenders' offices. An expungement generally gives you the right not to disclose, except for professional license applications like law or medicine (not job or school apps). If you get through med school, you're not likely to be denied a license based on what will be (then) at least 6 year old unfounded charges. Again, a FL atty should be able to help you with this.

Yea, ive got a while to go . Im just taking prerequisites now so a considerable amount of time will have past by the time I apply to med school. As far as credits go, im considered a sophmore. I just changed my major from real estate law to biomed so technically im just getting started. I haven't even taken biology 1 yet (next semester)

 

[chasingzion]

Thanksl you everyone for your input. It is greatly appreciated and youve all given me something to think about.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Nothing with you being new, and I am byfar the "oldest" member on the board in years of age at least. My tactic here is slap you across the face period, something I almost never do in on boards I participate in, boards I run, students I advise, or to colleagues. Do you have absolutely any understanding of the rational misrepresentation, the emotional stress, and thus the ethical issues your comments and style raise?

You stomped on someone by not only blaming them for being abused by another and made them believe it.

You are simply an ass and a piece of ****.

Please remove the picture of the gorilla. They are a noble peaceful species and you insult them with the connection to yourself

Actually perhaps you change your screen name to "ADoltWhoShouldShutUp"

This is ridiculously hyperbolic. Strong ad hominem with an assist by Burnett's Law the post before. Back off.

 

[wholeheartedly]

OP I'd also suggest checking out your schools legal aid options. My state school offers free legal consults to students. I didn't wind up using them but its nice to know they are there.

I do think you should be able to press criminal charges against him for filing false report, but it sounds like the officer just didn't want to go through with it. I'm wondering if a civil suit would be an option. As far as there supposedly being no harm, I'd argue that the fact were having this discussion, the fact that those arrests might need to be disclosed and so on might be considered harm. I'd talk to a lawyer about all of this.

 

[Vince411]

You do not have to disclose charges that were levied against you. You are innocent until proven guilty in this country and being charged with a crime is wholly different than being convicted of a crime. You do not have a criminal record because you were never convicted of a crime. You do not even have to inform people that you were charged with a crime.

 

[alamo4]

I'm a lawyer, but not in Florida. Something doesn't seem right - it doesn't make sense that you can expunge only one arrest or charge that results in dropped charges or an acquittal (not guilty verdict). My state until recently only allowed one CONVICTION to be expunged, but there were no limits on arrests not leading to a conviction. PLEASE see an attorney about this before you come to any conclusions. Make sure the attorney does a lot of criminal defense and is up on the law regarding expungements.

Seriously, when you think about all you pay for applications and school, it's worth a few hundred bucks to see a lawyer in your state who does criminal cases. Trying to figure this stuff out on your own is like trying to practice medicine by reading Wikipedia. If you have no money, your school may have some sort of legal clinic, or there may be a legal aid clinic in your town or a nearby law school. You really only need like twenty minutes of advice and likely some help with filing some forms.

As noted, you DO NOT need to put anything in AMCAS, and can probably add explanatory information to any secondary that asks.

 

[LongTimeLurk]

I have not read entire thread but I have an arrest record from an incident in college. I did not have to disclose it because charges were dropped and I was never asked about it. But I was fairly certain it would show up on a background check if I matriculated somewhere. So I did bring it up to one of my interviewers and he said "me too!" We discussed how we learned from the situation and how it will make us better in the future. Just keep studying and you will be fine.

Hi,
This is strictly for people who actually KNOW what theyre talking about, people who have been in similar circumstances or know of someone that has either been rejected or accepted based off of their background.

I have charged with crimes that I had not committed. I will give you a run down.

2012 - Battery. (Not Guilty)
2012 - Assault with a deadly weapon (Case Dropped)
2012 - Assault with a motor vehicle (Case Dropped)
2012 - Aggrevated stalking (Case Dropped

Btw, these charges all stemmed from the same arrest.
To sum it up, my exboyfriend and his best friend teamed up against me and wrote phony statements that led to me being arrested. (He was jealous because I had gotten pregnant by someone else after we broke up) I total douche bag I know. Anyway, all of the charges were dropped and in one charge I was actually found not guilty.

I aspire to be a pediatrics radiologist one day, and I worry that the nature of these charges will make med schools and employers reluctant to hire me. Will they only look at the final disposition on the charges or will they look at these charges and be afraid to hire me? Its crazy what happened to me, and its even crazier when I have to explain that I got all of these charges because of an evil vindictive ec boyfriend ....but its the truth and unfortunately I can't make these charges go away....even though I was never actually found guilty or convicted of any of these crimes.
And its REALLY sucks (
I feel like he ruined my life and my dreams of being a physician