Question on a dismissed case

[phoenixphyre]

I was arrested several years ago on a drug-related charge but I was never convicted and the judge dismissed the case. (In California)

My question is, how does that show up on your record when an employer does a criminal background check?

I'm currently going through a background check right now and it's hung up because they found something and are awaiting some info from the county clerks's office in Los Angeles.

If someone can shed some light on this I would appreciate it because I'm really nervous that I may not get the job.

 

[cmlzip]

This is one of the worst things about the legal system. Even though you weren't convicted of any law and the case was totally dismissed, the fact that you were "arressted" will stay on your record "until" you get the charge expunged. And that's no inexpensive chore (about $1000 to pay a useless lawyer just for his "I passed the bar exam signature").

 

[phoenixphyre]

This is one of the worst things about the legal system. Even though you weren't convicted of any law and the case was totally dismissed, the fact that you were "arressted" will stay on your record "until" you get the charge expunged. And that's no inexpensive chore (about $1000 to pay a useless lawyer just for his "I passed the bar exam signature").

Couldn't I just go to the court and ask the clerk for the appropriate papers to fill out to have the records expunged?

The good new is I passed the pre-employment requirements today but in case I change jobs again, I hate to go through this ordeal every single time.

btw, thank your your reply

 

[cmlzip]

Unfortunately, Phoenix, it's not quite that easy. A lawyer must have his signatures on the papers to be signed. The 8 or so copies are then sent to all of the necessary agencies and about 3 weeks later, your record will be expunged. It sucks because you can actually download the papers from the internet (adobe acrobat pdf.file) but you must have the lawyer's signatures on them. However, if you know a lawyer well enough, you can print up the papers yourself and hopefully your lawyer friend will sign his name and date it and he won't rob you in the process. This is the best case scenario.

 

[NYClex]

@ Phoenix

You should always be careful about what is written on a public forum. Not all the information is accurate.

If you want to clean up a criminal record obtained in California you can do that without a lawyer, though I would advise to let an attorney do it, because you have to be pretty careful to observe all the rules of filing. But here you will find a very good explanation of the process given by the State of California:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/other/crimlawclean.htm#intro