Secondary Criminal Background Question

[444zane3]

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I was never convicted and I know most secondaries only ask about convictions and not charges/arrests.

However, I still have a criminal record of the arrest so I would have to answer yes if asked on secondary “do you have a criminal record?”
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Do any/lot of secondaries ask “do you have a criminal record?” Thanks a lot guys.

 

[CricB4Tube]

I was never convicted and I know most secondaries only ask about convictions and not charges/arrests.

However, I still have a criminal record of the arrest so I would have to answer yes if asked on secondary “do you have a criminal record?”
-
Do any/lot of secondaries ask “do you have a criminal record?” Thanks a lot guys.

None of my secondaries asked if I had a criminal record, but many asked if I was ever convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, and one even asked about traffic violations.
I was arrested and charged with a felony crime but all my charges were dismissed (bad cop) so I got to answer "no" to all the criminal stuff during the application cycle. My background check has also been completed for med school and while this does pop up on it, it clearly says my charges were dismissed on the record. None of the schools I've been accepted to have brought it up.
You should be fine.

 

[444zane3]

None of my secondaries asked if I had a criminal record, but many asked if I was ever convicted of a misdemeanor or felony, and one even asked about traffic violations.
I was arrested and charged with a felony crime but all my charges were dismissed (bad cop) so I got to answer "no" to all the criminal stuff during the application cycle. My background check has also been completed for med school and while this does pop up on it, it clearly says my charges were dismissed on the record. None of the schools I've been accepted to have brought it up.
You should be fine.

Great, thank you for your reply! My lawyer has told me I would still have to answer yes about arrests/charges even tho it was dismissed after a diversion program. Were you able to answer “no” to arrest/charge questions since your case got dismissed before pleading guilty? Or is it because of your states’ policies regarding dismissed cases?

 

[CricB4Tube]

Great, thank you for your reply! My lawyer has told me I would still have to answer yes about arrests/charges even tho it was dismissed after a diversion program. Were you able to answer “no” to arrest/charge questions since your case got dismissed before pleading guilty? Or is it because of your states’ policies regarding dismissed cases?

I never saw a question asking about being arrested or charged, only convicted. If I ever was asked about a charge/arrest, I honestly would avoid that institution altogether, but if you had to apply there, they should provide an area to explain and you would just write, "all charges were dismissed."

Charges and even arrests don't mean anything. I can literally charge anyone for anything right now and take them to court for it with absolutely no evidence. The judge would just dismiss the charge, which is exactly what a dismissal is intended to show: that the charge/arrest had no merit.

 

[Detailsmatter]

Your lawyer may not be correct in this case. If you are arrested, go to court and are put into a diversion program, the charges are pending by the court. If you complete the diversion and the court formally dismisses the charges, you are not convicted of anything. There would be court record of the program but it is not a conviction in most states.

the only thing I would mention about this is some schools do ask you specifically about charges that were dismissed after going through any type of program

 

[Detailsmatter]

Great, thank you for your reply! My lawyer has told me I would still have to answer yes about arrests/charges even tho it was dismissed after a diversion program. Were you able to answer “no” to arrest/charge questions since your case got dismissed before pleading guilty? Or is it because of your states’ policies regarding dismissed cases?

you should go based off on what your lawyer said. If a secondary ever asks have you ever been arrested or charged with a misdemeanor or felony you have to say yes unless the arrest was expunged from your record (if your state allows for that). but obviously if they only ask if you were ever convicted for anything then you would just say no

 

[KLMD44]

It depends on the wording of the question in addition to what your states laws outline. Go with your lawyers advice, if the school says anything about it you can refer them to you attorney!