This isn't a legal forum and no one is pretending it is, and I don't have my JD, so I humbly offer my understanding of law. I encourage anyone with a JD to review what I've written here and contest it line by line if I've mispoken in any way, shape or form, too. Knowing the law is part of what being a citizen is all about, and if we all were to keep silent because we're not lawyers, that'd be shameful.
Krazykritter, the bottom line is this as I see it regarding this thread;
there are different layers of law. An expungement process is different in different states, and this might be a moot point because he may not even be eligible for expungement in his respective state - in the states I'm familiar with, a felony charge can't ever be expunged, but the bottom line is this: if the Judge that sentanced him awards him an expungement, that's an order to the state and federal agencies that the arrest and judgement never occured, and whether it was adjudicated or not, it's law. In the states I'm a little familiar with, the original offense would have had to have been adjudicated in the first place to be considered for expungement, but I'm sure this varies. States and federal agencies work in concert with one another in these matters.
If a state licensing board ended up using information they obtained to deny an application for licensure, it would be illegally received information (even if by mistake), and the student, whomever it would be, would be in an excellent position to appeal the decision. And besides, once it came out it was expunged, the OP could make up any old reason why it had been, and there's no way it could be contested; he could claim he was framed, someone had stolen his identity, I mean you name it. Who from the court is going to refute it? All the files have been destroyed. Any lawyer in the land would love to represent this case, and they may make some money from a civil suit.
A sealed/deferred, aka adjudicated sentance, isn't even close to the same thing as an expungement. In fact, even though an adjudicated judgement means that whatever plea was offered wasn't accepted by the court and, under conditions defined by the court, dismissed after conditions were successfully met, the arrest or case file is
not private information, and can be obtained by any freedom of information request by any public citizen, licensing board, etc., and will show up on any ol' $15 background check. I hope this clarify's my understanding of what the general principle of expungement represents, regardless of which state. If the order or expungement varied considerably from state to state, they'd call it something else to avoid confusion on the federal or inter-state level. Like in Texas, for example, they have an award of non-disclosure as well, which
isn't an expungement, and has different, though similar, implications.
The OP, in the interest of full disclosure, wants to state it on the application, then by all means he should. But if he's prepared to do so, the expungement is probably really just a hoop he doesn't need to concern himself with; it would be more prudent to focus his energy in demonstrating a civic rehabilitation, which it sounds like he's been doing, and then preparing himself for the explanation, and the explanation of the explanation, etc., until the process is fulfilled.
I am not a judge or lawyer...I was telling you what is on my application for state licensure. Now, for the sake of ending this stupid freaking argument I will quote word for word the application question.
"6. Have you ever been convicted of, or entered a plea of guilty, nolo contendere, or no contest to a crime other than a minor traffic offense, in any jurisdiction? You must include all misdeameanors and felonies, even if adjudication was withheld by the court so that you would not have a record of conviction. (For example, you must report if your conviction was expunged, you received a deferred judgment, or you received an executive pardon.) Driving under the influence or driving while impaired is not a minor traffic offense.
If yes, provide details of the charge and the final outcome. Provide copies of any court/legal documents related to each incident."
That is only one of the questions relating to previous trouble with the law. At the beginning of this section of the application is instructs that FULL DISCLOSURE is expected & sanctions can be imposed by the board if incidents are discovered that are not disclosed by the applicant.
Having sanctions against you before you even begin practice as a resident isn't exactly the best start to a medical career. You want to enter a profession where integrity is of utmost importance b/c of the type of information & responsibility that comes with our job.
