<p>What does it mean to get something expunged from your record? I had a run-in five years ago when I was in high school, the charges (misdemeanor citation) were dropped, and my attorney told me that I could go back and get everything expunged whenever I wanted to. Now, I’m preparing to enter the job market this summer, and would like to get this junk off of my record. If I get it expunged, and an employer conducts a background check, will it show up or will it be off of my record?</p>
<p>As I understand it, having it expunged means that you can truthfully say that you were not convicted of a crime when you fill out forms. It is still possible, however, that it will turn up on a background check–even if it’s not on the official record of the court where it occurred. If you proceed, make sure you keep documentation showing that it was expunged, in case you are ever asked about it.</p>
<p>This was five years ago; I have no clue if he’s even around anymore (he was very young at the time). I can try calling his firm to see if he’s still there, but I know there are a lot of knowledgeable and helpful attorneys on here, so I figured I’d ask here first.</p>
<p>You’re best off consulting with either your original attorney or another one in the same region where you dealt with your original charges. They would best know the specific rules regarding expungement of juvenile charges, etc. We can only deal in generalities since the law varies between states. Best of luck to you!!! :)</p>
<p>“Expunged” is a legal term, but for practical purposes in this era of google nothing is ever erased from your record. So even if the court officially orders your record “expunged,” someone may still be able to locate it on the web.</p>
<p>Were you a juvenile at the time? </p>
<p>I know of a circumstance where someone was asked “have you ever been charged with a crime,” and they answered no, banking on the fact that their record had been expunged and therefore no one would find out. A background check turned up the charge, and even though the conviction was expunged, the applicant still was found to have lied on the application about the charge. This was for a licensed medical position, so there were criminal penalties for the misrepresentation.</p>
<p>If it is expunged, you can answer that you were not convicted. Most companies will not ask about arrests. For normal employment, the type of background check will not turn up something that has been properly expunged. For security clearances etc it might. The questions on those applications will ask about arrests/convictions EVEN IF EXPUNGED.
I would get it expunged. You probably have to pay to have this done and in some states it is quite expensive ($500-800) Then you can hire a PI to do a quick background check (cheap) to make sure it doesn’t show up. The expungement process isn’t rocket science, but it is a LOT of paperwork and sending documents and court papers around.</p>
<p>But, if money is tight (which it probably is as a young person looking for your first job), I would say consider waiting on having it expunged unless you see it causes a problem landing a job. There will be fees and it might be a lot of money for a young person.</p>
<p>When you do fill out an application, they always ask to explain the circumstances. You can write something like “Occured when I was prior to 18” and the majority of employers will excuse it.</p>
<p>Of course, this depends on how serious the offense was. If it was murder…probably not. Fraud…probably not. Marijuana/alcohol/etc conviction…in a heartbeat. Burglary/shoplifting…I’d say probably.</p>
<p>I agree with the advice to see an attorney in the state in which you were arrested. Applications for certain kinds of employment will ask about arrests and convictions and will, as MOWC states, state that you must list all convictions even if expunged. </p>
<p>This is not legal advice, as I am not admitted to practice in Rhode Island, but I know that in Rhode Island, all convictions, even those expunged, must be disclosed when you apply for most teaching jobs. I make this point only to illustrate that there can be exceptions to expungement laws and those exceptions vary among states. </p>
<p>So, get the record expunged but read job applications carefully.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the helpful feedback. Like I said, the incident happened 5 years ago when I was 16 and involved two drinking-related tickets. The attorney was able to get the case and all the charges thrown out, but I did an online background check on myself a couple of years ago and the court system still had my charges in there. Normally the situation would be easy to explain (I was young, at a party, etc) but the career field I am trying to enter has very little tolerance for any alcohol-related offences, so I’d like to get them completely off of my record just to be sure.</p>
<p>I guess the tricky part is that I was never convicted, as the DA dropped everything. No prayer for judgment or anything like that, he just threw the charges out (this was according to my attorney). Now I’m just trying to figure out how to make the whole deal go away completely. </p>
<p>Once again, thanks for all the very useful input.</p>
<p>Again, this is not legal advice. I have no knowledge whatsoever of NC law; I just googled.
There seem to be forms to do this available on the internet. I’d call the pro se clerk of the court for the jurisdiction in which the charges were brought and see if you can do this yourself.</p>
<p>I’ve never been asked the question in an interview.</p>
<p>And frankly, if an prospective employer ever said, “What have you been arrested for in your life”, I’d conclude the interview at that point. It’s not an appropriate place to be asking for criminal background information.</p>
<p>babyontheway, I hate to rain on your parade, but here are the questions US employers are not allowed to ask (run-ins with the law are not on the list and are usually addressed in the application forms, not during the actual interview):</p>