Dismissed drug felony in CA.

Persephone001 · Jul 12, 2011

I believe you could have an issue with this is it is left on your record, but as far as my understanding, if it is expunged then it would be a non-issue because it will no longer show up on your background check. But you said you were convicted...can you even have a conviction expunged, or were the charges dropped?

The only problem could be that I have heard it can be difficult to get something expunged from your record. It requires money, a lawyer and can take a year, or that is atleast my friends experiance. If it was an actually conviction (felony?)...you would have to talk with a lawyer to see if it is even possible to get that removed from your record. I really hope it is not a felony because that is such a horrible label to have. It is actually very sad because a felon may want to clean up and start new but then can no longer go to school or get a decent job and then usually turns back to what they had done before simply because they have no choice.

If RN school is something you really want then go for it! If you find out that you can have this expunged from your record and you have the money to do it, then go ahead with school because your record should be cleared by the time you graduate.

SoCalVC · Jul 12, 2011

persephone001,

thanks for your reply. in actuality, the case was dismissed under pc 1203.4 (same pc for an expungement i believe). the conviction of 'guilty' was pulled and a 'not guilty' was entered. so by law, i am no longer a convicted felon under this penal code. for a "normal" job application i can state 'no' as to ever being convicted of a felony or misd. but not when it comes to the state, county, and i'm guessing hospitals etc.. i have to state "yes, dismissed". i understand that the brn kinda takes 1203.4 into consideration?? but from what i've been reading from various threads, they still have denied licenses to many many people.

in the california self-help website (which the judge recommended) http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/other/crimlawclean.htm#dismissals it reads:

what will a dismissal do?

once all of your convictions have been dismissed:

applying for private employment: under most circumstances, private employers cannot ask you about any convictions dismissed under penal code 1203.4. so, when applying for a job in the private sector, you generally do not have to disclose a conviction if it was dismissed or expunged. but, it is a good idea to read the penal code 1203.4 , the california code regs 7287.4(d) , and/or talk to the public defender in your county if you have questions about your rights and obligations regarding past convictions when applying for a job. click here to find the public defender.
applying for government employment or a government license: on questions by government employers or government licensing applications if you are asked if you have ever been convicted of a crime, you must respond with "yes-conviction dismissed." in california, government employers and licensing agencies (except for police agencies and concessionaire licensing boards), will treat you the same as if you had never been convicted of any crime. really?? hmmm
you will not be allowed to own or possess a firearm until you would otherwise be able to do so.
your dismissed conviction(s) can still be used to increase your punishment in future criminal cases.
your prior conviction(s) can still affect your driving privileges.
if you have been required to register as a sex offender as a result of a conviction, you have to make a different motion to the court in order to be relieved of this requirement. a dismissal will not relieve you of your duty to register as a sex offender. your status as a registered sex offender will continue to be available to the public on the internet under megan's law.
if your conviction prohibited you from holding public office, you still cannot hold public office after that conviction is dismissed.

like so many people out there, i want nothing more but to go on with my life and put all this behind me. will this forever haunt me??

SoCalVC · Jul 12, 2011

thanks for your reply persephone001! i left a really really long message earlier today in reply to your message but for some reason it didn't go through.

anyways, the conviction was dismissed persuant to pc 1203.4. so by law, i am no longer a convicted felon. i do not have to disclose my conviction to employers except state, county, and now i find out hospitals too. from doing some research, my conviction was not expunged (sealed) but basically dropped.

the judge recommended that i explore this website (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/other/crimlawclean.htm#dismissals) regarding dismissals. this is what i found:

what will a dismissal do?

once all of your convictions have been dismissed:

applying for private employment: under most circumstances, private employers cannot ask you about any convictions dismissed under penal code 1203.4. so, when applying for a job in the private sector, you generally do not have to disclose a conviction if it was dismissed or expunged. but, it is a good idea to read the penal code 1203.4 , the california code regs 7287.4(d) , and/or talk to the public defender in your county if you have questions about your rights and obligations regarding past convictions when applying for a job. click here to find the public defender.
applying for government employment or a government license: on questions by government employers or government licensing applications if you are asked if you have ever been convicted of a crime, you must respond with "yes-conviction dismissed." (this is the kicker!!) in california, government employers and licensing agencies (except for police agencies and concessionaire licensing boards), will treat you the same as if you had never been convicted of any crime.
you will not be allowed to own or possess a firearm until you would otherwise be able to do so.
your dismissed conviction(s) can still be used to increase your punishment in future criminal cases.
your prior conviction(s) can still affect your driving privileges.
if you have been required to register as a sex offender as a result of a conviction, you have to make a different motion to the court in order to be relieved of this requirement. a dismissal will not relieve you of your duty to register as a sex offender. your status as a registered sex offender will continue to be available to the public on the internet under megan's law.
if your conviction prohibited you from holding public office, you still cannot hold public office after that conviction is dismissed.

i know the brn in ca, really doesn't acknowledge this penal code. we still have to fight for our lives even though, i feel, i have paid my debt to society and to myself. i'm reading these horror stories that the brn denied licensure to people that have had a dui a decade ago. what makes me think i can get in with what i've done?

look, i've tried to think positively since all this happened, but i also have to think realistically. i understand that the brn takes each case into consideration (case by case), but i find myself falling into a suffocatingly grim, pit of despair. yes, that dramatic.

is there anyone out there that has made it (full license, not probationary) with a past similar to mine and got a hospital job? please say there is hope for the hopeless..

dylansmom7 · Jul 13, 2011

I am not familiar with that pc code, either. I was charged with possession in 95 and did a diversion w/ pc 1000 and charges were dropped, so I was never convicted and there is some information about diversion and pc 1000 in the brn. So, pc 1000 is like never being charged but having been arrested. So, I do have an arrest record but no convictions. Hope that makes sense, as I have just confused myself..lol. I am just starting my last semester of nursing school and have been nervous about taking the nclex and getting licensed with a record, but it was almost 17 years ago..so keeping my fingers crossed. I wish you luck and sorry I am no help...just wanted to share with you my situation and perhaps, I will have a success story in December..:)

PMHNP2023, RN · Jul 17, 2011

I have expunged 2 of my past misdemeanors. Total cost $120. I did it myself without an attorney.

I work at a hospital and have had 4 background checks done, all showed up with "no record". I've spoken to people who do background checks, and if there is a 1203.4 (expungement) paper from the court in the file, the background company cannot report the case/charge(s).

My 2 misdemeanors show up on my DOJ and FBI Rap Sheet, and they always will. But, below each charge it states that the cases was dismissed pursuant to pc 1203.4.

Where on the website does it say not to call the BRN? I'm curious.

As far as getting a felony expunged, the only way I know that you can do that is to get it reduced to a misdemeanor and then try to expunge it. I think in CA a felony has to be pardoned, it can't be expunged. Again, I don't offer legal advice, just my experience.

SoCalVC · Jul 21, 2011

hi everyone!

in california, from my experience investigating this matter, expunged is when you get the charge sealed. dismissed is when they pull the guilty plea, and enter not guilty. so, basically it was like i was never convicted. charges dropped. but, it was with the pc 1203.4. the brn wants you to state all convictions, even if we got it dismissed with 1203.4. mine is pretty new, i realize this. the brn might stop me at the nclex and not let me take, upon further investigation.

i spoke with the don and she said that i should go for it. she had never heard of anyone, in the time she's been at our jc, getting a probationary license. so, hopefully.. that's a good sign for me. i should have all my ducks in a row: rehabilitation, letters of rec, everything that will show what i've done to change my life since then. by the time its time to take the nclex, it would have been 5 years since the "conviction". but, see legally, i am no longer a convicted felon.

dylansmom7: i see that you did a drug diversion, which i believe they waive or drop the charges if you complete the diversion program. i've heard of that. but in my case, i was actually charged and convicted. i filed for dismissal of that conviction, it was granted, so now i no longer have a conviction, charges dropped. but, my thing is, because i was once actually convicted, does that make a huge difference? i don't know.. plus, mine was a possession of mj charge, not an under the influence (which i wasn't), so i don't think i could have gotten diversion.

to djexpress: i actually had a felony (which could not be reduced) that i got dismissed. the judge told me that this was my next step. i hired an attorney and she did it for me. are you in california? if so, on your application for the hospital, did you state "no' on convictions or did you state "yes" conviction dismissed or expunged? i know it's alittle ways down the road for me, but i want to be prepared. i believe that hospitals do have access to the doj (fbi rap sheet) just as the brn does right? as for the "do not call" it was somewhere in the brn site. i can't remember, i was fishing everywhere in there, but most likely where it states something about convictions.

i passed all background checks for the school, both nationally and seven county search by private investigator (retired police officer). i realize school and brn are two different ballparks, but if i'm cleared to be assigned to clinical in a hospital, does that possibly mean that my background is passable enough to work there? hmmm

thank you guys for responding.. i really appreciate it

dylansmom7 · Jul 21, 2011

Hi SoCalIVC,

Yes, I had a "deferred entry of judgement" which means there is no judgment made until you complete/fail to complete the diversion program. I also had a possision charge (not under the influence). It was a felony arrest but was later dropped by the DA to a misdomenor. Perhaps (I don't know) that felonies are not applicable to PC 1000? I do have a question for you (mostly curiosity), how is it that MJ is a felony? Was it sales? Growing? I don't know much about the laws with MJ. So here in socal, I have sent many applications out to many hospitals and some ask "have you ever been ARRESTED (not convicted) for a drug related crime?" which you and I would have to answer honestly because they will do what is called a "live scan" which will bring up your arrest record and the judgement. Yes, I was not convicted because I did complete the pc 1000, but I would still have to answer yes on the app because they will find out anyway and then fire me for dishonesty. However, other hospitals do not ask that question, but ask about convictions-which I feel is more fair. Lots of people are arrested, but not convicted, so why ask? Now, as far as the BON is concerned, I think many people that you read about or have read about that have other less serious convictions applying for licensing, perhaps were not completely honest with the board, and therefore, were not licensed. That's my belief, anyway. I know nurses that have gotten dui's in nursing school..took them over two years to get licensed, but they did. A close friend knows of a nurse that was a prostitute/drugs and is a nurse?!?! Look, I have a lot of reservations about the BON too. I would hate to have gone through 5 years (including prereques) and be denied, but it's worth the effort. My advice is not to worry about expunging anything as you will just have to devulge it all anyway. You will ALWAYS have an arrest record, just as I will. Best of luck! BTW there were some success stories on here with felonies, got licensed and I think were hired as well. Sorry if I have typos..no spell check..lol

PMHNP2023, RN · Jul 21, 2011

I think this thread is great. With all the negative threads on this forum regarding these matters, it's nice to see a thread where people show a little bit of hope.

I had to do a Prop 36 class. After about 4 months, I ask the judge to modify my probation, I couldn't do everything the program was asking of me...after all I had a full time job and bills to pay. The program wanted me to enter an inpatient rehab and quit my job. I thought "wait, isn't the whole point of going to a rehab so you can become a functioning member of society?" Why the heck would they want to take away the positive things I had going in my life? So the judge gave me 30 days jail, and took me out of the prop 36 program.

Anyways, all I can say is that now I'm about as straight edge as it gets. I guess some things you've just got to experience first hand and decide by yourself. There are a lot of people on here that are quick to judge. Unless you've been there and done that, you have no right to point the finger at what someone else is going through.

Anyways, I have 2 letters of rec. I have excellent recommendations from all my past employers, and I'm sure I'll get some more good letters from future professors, etc. I start school in 3 weeks and then it's 2 years until I get to find out if the CA BON will give me a license.

SoCalVC · Jul 25, 2011

dylansmom7: it really sucks that some hospitals ask if you have ever been arrested for anything drug related. that really sucks. but, you say that some hospitals don't ask? that right there gives me hope. i'll just have to hunt all over ca, for those hospitals!! we are not people making such horrible mistakes that we should be thrown away like scums of the earth. we are human, we've made mistakes...some in our early life, some later in life. either way, we are not people who should be forgotten and deemed unworthy for a profession we have a passion for... nursing.

djxpress: quit your full time job?? really? geeze, ya, lets have someone who has a full time job (which to most is very hard to find), and then throw him in jail anyways. we are a policing country, everyone has to pay a price for what they(state, federal) deem as against the law. it's great you have your rec's in place, i will do that soon as well. i spoke to my don and i suggested al-anon meetings for myself (which has to do with what i got in trouble for), because the brn may want to see rehabilitation and al-anon is the best i can do, i think. so i will go from there, have regular meetings with her every semester so she can get to know me when rec letter comes into play. that also goes for al-anon. not only do i need it (lord knows i do).. i will be able to prove to the brn, that i have changed my life, and this is what i have done since then.

all i can say is your right djexpress... we need words of encouragement. we need to know that this is not the end of the road for people like us. yes, we have made mistakes, but who are they to judge the people we are. good people make bad mistakes all the time. i'm not making excuses for all people, but there are some of us that made bad judgments for whatever reason.

i just remembered the other day, there was a woman in my clinical class (i completed my first semester of nursing then pulled out because of my issue) who had a few misdemeanors from 7 years prior. she got them reduced then dismissed and she is now a working nurse. so see.. there is hope for us right?

SoCalVC · Jul 25, 2011

hey guys.. here's another piece of info that i found.

state employer's use of criminal records

california california law places restrictions on the prospective employer's ability to ask

about certain criminal records while protecting the applicant from any

requirement to disclose certain arrest information.

the fair employment and housing commission restricts employers from

inquiring or seeking information on any applicant concerning any:

*= arrest or detention which did not result in conviction;

*= conviction for which the record has been judicially ordered sealed,

expunged, or statutorily eradicated;

*= misdemeanor conviction for which probation has been successfully

completed or otherwise discharged and the case has been judicially

dismissed; or

*= arrest for which a pretrial diversion program has been successfully

completed.

reference: ca code of reg. 2787.4

the ca labor code further prohibits employers from:

*= asking an applicant to disclose;

*= seeking from any source; or

*= utilizing as a factor in hiring,

any information concerning an arrest or detention that did not result in

conviction.

exceptions: employers may ask about:

*= arrests where the applicant is out on bail or his own recognizance while

awaiting trial.

*= certain arrests when the applicant will be employed at a health facilities

and have access to patients, drugs, or medication.

reference: ca labor code 432.7.

above is what is going to hurt those of us that have an arrest record.

Karl Farmer · Aug 7, 2011

All well and good what an employer can and cannot ask. Too bad the BON doesn't have to comply- and when you apply for a nursing job, they will contact the BON, and then the BON may have your record marked, which will inform the employer that you have a record, or that your license is on probation, or is subject to supervision, and so on and so forth. So what is all this effort about at preventing employers from doing this, or doing that. It's a moot point.