My friend was convicted of a misdemeanor drug offense as an adult in California. He has since had his conviction expunged. However, employers can still see the conviction when they search his background, but it says the situation has been “dismissed.” Apparently employers are not supposed to consider his conviction, but since they can still see it, I’m sure it must figure into their hiring decision. His lawyer told him that now when asked on an application if he has ever been convicted of a crime, he can say he has not. So my question is this, is there a way to completely remove that from his record? If applying for a Federal Government job, can he still say he has not been convicted?
So if he got a copy of his record, it would not mention it?
I’ve known people with expunged records in other states and thier convictions do no show in any government database. The terms of the expungment specifically listed out things like court house record, police departments and even FBI records. Perhaps the employers are getting thier information from a private firm that maintains thier own database. If that is the case he should tell the prospective employer that the search was in error, act indignate, and threaten to sue the firm providing the information. He should then demand that the firm provide certified proof from a court that he had been convicted, when they can’t they should back off.
A copy of his record through the court shows his arrest, conviction, sentence, fines and payments, probation, request for early probation termination–granted, request for dismissal (expungement) of conviction–granted. And at the VERY END of it all it says, “dismissed.”
The records come directly from the county court website.
California expungment really sucks! I know that Ohio seals your records. I’ve known people there with sealed felonies that are gun shop owners!
Would your friend want to check with the court personnel, or an attorney, to make sure the expungement was correctly done?
We thought of that…the attorney said that’s all he knows of to do. The court said they do not give legal advice. Maybe he should check with another attorney, huh? I just thought there might be a California attorney here that would know.
I think it’s not supposed to show up on a record check, but I’ve heard of many screw-ups with expugement. Si amigo’s advice is the way to go. If it continues to be a problem, I think your friend might be able to go back to the court and address the issue before a judge. Counsel would help.
I posted this in the wrong thread but the gist is still the same.
From the other thread:
Eva Luna hit the nail on this one. Wheter a DUI is considered a “crime of moral turpitude” is totally up to the state on which the crime happened. In Ohio, I know for a fact, that you cannot get a felony conviction expunged if you have a prior DUI offense. Even though a DUI is not a felony. In Indiana you can. It’s a gray area concerning states rights to define what a “crime of moral turpitude” is. Perhaps California has (a probably does) have thier own set of standards to define expungment and record sealing. Your friend needs to consult with a lawyer in his specific jurisdiction to take care of this matter. It could be that the paperwork hasn’t been executed properly at that court house. They get busy, and sometimes let things slip until someone compains . . .
From my understanding, an expungment is supposed to be a sealing of the record of the crime. If this wasn’t done then the individual needs to ask why.