Expungement

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Even if your record has been expunged, does this mean that you still have to tell the truth in regards to your conviction, no matter what, and should I tell my nursing school that I did have a record first?

EXPUNGE

In my experience, the people who 'threaten' information from you cannot get it otherwise. They count on your weakness to get what they want.

The courts expunge certain things for a reason, and ANYTHING on your record that has been expunged CAN NOT be accessed by ANY potential employer. (Unless maybe you plan on being a federal employee or something, and even still, discriminating against an expunged charge would be 'illegal')

As for an earlier poster worried about a juvenille offense, I hope I read that wrong........NO juvenille records can be accessed by ANYONE except the D.A., and they can ONLY use it to determine appropriate charges...that cannot be brought up in court or anywhere else......it is illegal........unless you were CONVICTED as an adult.

Why do all of the Cop shows make it a point to say that everyone is "innocent until proven guilty by a court of law"??

EXPUNGEMENT means that the convicting court/judge no longer deems you liable/guilty of the crime.

If the BON is more powerful than a judge in your stae, let me know......I'm interested!!

He stated that expungement was in process, meaning that isn't completed. If it is not completed on the day that you sign and submit that application then the problem still exists and would be considered falsifying information for not including it. Each state's BON has their own rules.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Please be VERY careful about detailing personal information. The internet is not anonymous. Search engines can and will find information with the smallest bit of detail in the search. Allnurses.com is the largest Nurses' Forum in the World.

Thank you for understanding.

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Interesting reading... Just a quick question. It was my understanding that convictions might be "expunged," but mere arrest/charges were not expunged but rather "sealed." Is there a difference? I work for a lawyer and should probably know the answer to this...but I don't. I have no convictions but have been arrested in the past.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
Interesting reading... Just a quick question. It was my understanding that convictions might be "expunged," but mere arrest/charges were not expunged but rather "sealed." Is there a difference? I work for a lawyer and should probably know the answer to this...but I don't. I have no convictions but have been arrested in the past.

Be very careful. You might need a nurse-lawyer for this one - they're out there. Last night I was trolling a state's site to check on the status of a particular nurse's license and there were several licenses suspended because of false information on the license application.

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I suppose it depends on what your sins are. I shoplifted $10 worth of lipstick when I was young (minor) and dumb and was told that if I paid my fines, served my community service time, met their other requirements, and did not offend again I could come back to the court in a year and have the record expunged. I did everything they asked and showed up a year later where I was told that I would never have to admit to the offense, it was being wiped off my record. Now I don't care what shows up where, I was told by a court officer I didn't have to admit to it and I never will. If someone in authority manages to find it anyway and wants to come and ask me about it I'll confess all, I'll even tell them what shade I tried to make off with, but until that day comes my official story is "never been convicted" and I'm stickin' to it.

That is a very dangerous attitude to have. In NY we do criminal background checks on everyone who is hired and an FBI fingerprint check on all NON licensed staff that have direct patient care (its a NYSDOH requirement, don't look at me!). By NY law, we are not allowed to discriminate against someone who has been convicted of a crime UNLESS it directly reflects on thier job (IE a pediatric nurse who has been convicted of child abuse or a nursing assistant (LTC) who has been found guilty of robbing a nursing home resident). I have, however, fired someone for lying on their job application - telling me that they have never been convicited of a crime - and that has been upheld by the Department of Labor.

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Specializes in post-op.

OK. I read this post and remembered something from my past that I have not thought about in a while. I am really starting to get scared. I am 28 years old and when I was 17 I was arrested for ulawful possession of marijuana, this was violation (not even a misdemeanor in NY state) adn the record was sealed 1 year later. Anyway after reading this post I got nervous and emailed the BON to ask if this would affect my taking the NCLEX in a year when I graduate. They did not answer my question and told me to call the court that sealed my case. They could not help me either. The BON mentioned something about a box that I will have to check for the moral character question?? I am so confused and worried now. What exactly are they asking and how do I know if I was convicted? It was a violation, the court I called said it is viewed like a parking violation, but because I am talking about Nursing, she said she was not sure what I should do either. I just do not want a problem when I graduate. I have no attorney and never did! Anyone who can help me out here...

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

A friend of mine had a file sealed. It shows up on a background check as a sealed file meaning there is something there but what? This is what happened to her. However, since you were 17 and a minor, it may not come up at all. Juvenile records are not public once you become of legal age. I doubt something you did as a juvenile will keep you out of nursing and besides, it was akin to a misdemeanor. This does not address the question of reportability, I realize. Once again, defer to an attorney or the BON.

Not giving legal advice here.

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Specializes in post-op.

Like I said I did contact the BON and they told me to contact the lawyer who handled my case. I did not have a lawyer for the case as it was not really a trial. I was arrested with an appearance ticket and then had to go to court. I wasn't able to say guilty or not guilty. I just had to do community service and not get in any other trouble. If the BON won't help me or answer my question then who can I go to? I am aggrivated :o

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Specializes in critical care; community health; psych.

The attorney who handled the original case should have copies of everything, including the final disposition. The fact that you served community service and the file was sealed shows that the case wasn't just left hanging in some limbo. My friend was urged by her current attorney to have the file unsealed because a sealed file looks worst than the conviction she got, and she would have to report it anyway. However, she was not a juvenile at the time of her encounter with the courts. If I were to go back to the BON for clarification, I would ask if I was required to report juvenile proceedings. Surely they should be able to answer that question.

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when i was 17 i was arrested for some real bad things, 37 years in prison if i was convicted as an adult(Have Since Changed My Ways) . However GOD was on my side, i served a year and a half in jail was released and started school first thing. Before applying to my nursing program i had a backgroung check done on myself to see if it was truly wiped clean, well it was and i am so thankfull. during my interview i was asked if i have ever been convicted of any felonys, i answered with a no. I start my program next month : )

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Never happened, erased from your record, your photos etc are distroyed. There may be a file somewhere in a basement of the FBI if your crime was of that type but from a local, available to your college type of info your record should be clean. However, since your career depends on honesty I would contact everyone mentioned including a local lawyer who could probably answer the question best with the facts...

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Never happened, erased from your record, your photos etc are distroyed. There may be a file somewhere in a basement of the FBI if your crime was of that type but from a local, available to your college type of info your record should be clean. However, since your career depends on honesty I would contact everyone mentioned including a local lawyer who could probably answer the question best with the facts...

Okay my truth comes out, I was arrested at 17 just 2 months after being considered an adult. I got arrested for possession of marijuana and shoplifting. It was expunged off my record as if it never happend. i just recently went to the police station and did a criminal background check and it was clean. NO, i'm not telling anyone about it.

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