[CA] Applying to school, but arrest but no conviction

Persephone Paige, ADN · Apr 6, 2019

The big question is always, 'what was the charge?' And of course, the relevance of time since the arrest.

If it was a drug related charge and it's only been 2 years, you're probably facing an uphill battle. Marijuana charges, although still serious, don't seem to produce the same sort of challenges that other drug charges do. You can't get pot in a hospital, but it suggests you like to 'check out' on your free time.

If it's some sort of violence, that's even worse.

You can never go wrong by getting a charge expunged, even if you weren't convicted. It shows the clinical provider that you are looking to turn over a new leaf and lay people can't just look you up and see your history.

worrywartinCA · Apr 6, 2019

10 hours ago, Persephone Paige said:
The big question is always, 'what was the charge?' And of course, the relevance of time since the arrest.
If it was a drug related charge and it's only been 2 years, you're probably facing an uphill battle. Marijuana charges, although still serious, don't seem to produce the same sort of challenges that other drug charges do. You can't get pot in a hospital, but it suggests you like to 'check out' on your free time.
If it's some sort of violence, that's even worse.
You can never go wrong by getting a charge expunged, even if you weren't convicted. It shows the clinical provider that you are looking to turn over a new leaf and lay people can't just look you up and see your history.

Oh my goodness, thank you for the quick reponse Persephone Paige!

Actually it was pretty bad, the charge was DV battery onto my partner. I am not going to make any excuses, and I should have been a better and smarter person to avoid the whole issue in the first place, even if the court or my partner think I did nothing wrong.

Since it is related to violence like you said, and DV at that, then I'm guess its really, really bad.

What should I do? Hire an attorney to seal this arrest?

Persephone Paige, ADN · Apr 6, 2019

2 hours ago, worrywartinCA said:
Oh my goodness, thank you for the quick reponse Persephone Paige!
Actually it was pretty bad, the charge was DV battery onto my partner. I am not going to make any excuses, and I should have been a better and smarter person to avoid the whole issue in the first place, even if the court or my partner think I did nothing wrong.
Since it is related to violence like you said, and DV at that, then I'm guess its really, really bad.
What should I do? Hire an attorney to seal this arrest?

Sign on to the expungement portion of your local division of law enforcement. They have a form you can download that will tell you what charges are eligible for expungement.

I would ask an attorney, a consult is fairly inexpensive. He can tell you if it's possible. If it isn't possible, you are going to have a hard time ever getting a job, even IF you were able to go to clinicals in nursing school.

Still. it's worth it. Maybe they reduced the charges to something more palatable. Violence, abuse, neglect are very difficult to overcome...

D_Shultz · Apr 7, 2019

I am finishing up my nursing program in Oregon involving a similar situation (Arrested for Assualt IV-Domestic Abuse), except mine occurred over 10 years ago when I was 19, and I just recently had the arrest expunged. I made mistake, and changed as a person from it, and I am happily married to the individual involved, my girlfriend at the time. In Oregon, all convictions and/ or arrests (even without charges filed, and even if it has been expunged) must be disclosed to the nursing board, as expunged records in Oregon still show evidence of a previous record in the state police criminal records database (as in someone who has never been booked in Oregon would just not show up in the system period, but someone who has, and had the record expunged still has an empty record that shows evidence there was once something inside of it.)

I suggest doing some serious research, and maybe even consult with an attorney that specifically retains clients involved in license disputes with the California Board of Nursing as I believe the State of California has laws that prohibit the mandate of disclosure of an Arrest, where charges were not ever filed (known as a “no complaint”). If that is the case, I suggest going through the process to have the arrest expunged, and I would not disclose it to the school if that is the case.

Just google “do i need to disclose an arrest with no conviction when applying to the california state board of nursing” and you will find several sites, including the California board of nursing site that supports my understanding. Again, this isn’t legal advice, and I strongly advise you seek a consultation with a Lawyer to confirm this.

I hope this helps!

worrywartinCA · Apr 7, 2019

11 hours ago, D_Shultz said:
I am finishing up my nursing program in Oregon involving a similar situation (Arrested for Assualt IV-Domestic Abuse), except mine occurred over 10 years ago when I was 19, and I just recently had the arrest expunged. I made mistake, and changed as a person from it, and I am happily married to the individual involved, my girlfriend at the time. In Oregon, all convictions and/ or arrests (even without charges filed, and even if it has been expunged) must be disclosed to the nursing board, as expunged records in Oregon still show evidence of a previous record in the state police criminal records database (as in someone who has never been booked in Oregon would just not show up in the system period, but someone who has, and had the record expunged still has an empty record that shows evidence there was once something inside of it.)
I suggest doing some serious research, and maybe even consult with an attorney that specifically retains clients involved in license disputes with the California Board of Nursing as I believe the State of California has laws that prohibit the mandate of disclosure of an Arrest, where charges were not ever filed (known as a “no complaint”). If that is the case, I suggest going through the process to have the arrest expunged, and I would not disclose it to the school if that is the case.
Just google “do i need to disclose an arrest with no conviction when applying to the california state board of nursing” and you will find several sites, including the California board of nursing site that supports my understanding. Again, this isn’t legal advice, and I strongly advise you seek a consultation with a Lawyer to confirm this.
I hope this helps!

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my post, D_Shultz. I will definitely heed your advice, as well as Persephone Paige's, and try to seek out an attorney. I had no idea that an option was to maybe not disclose my arrest, since most posts I see are advising people to be as honest as possible.

Whatever the outcome, I am really appreciative of the advice!

Persephone Paige, ADN · Apr 7, 2019

2 hours ago, worrywartinCA said:
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my post, D_Shultz. I will definitely heed your advice, as well as Persephone Paige's, and try to seek out an attorney. I had no idea that an option was to maybe not disclose my arrest, since most posts I see are advising people to be as honest as possible.
Whatever the outcome, I am really appreciative of the advice!

This I know to be true, regardless...

If you are sincere about goodness and bettering your life, nothing bad can come of doing all you can to make your dreams a reality. Research, write for assistance, don't stop until you get hold of some who will listen and help. Many people give up, not many people have what it takes to never give up.

jjsiegal · Apr 12, 2019

DV, is so common today.

It wasn't aggravated battery ----did anyone get hurt?