please help me :(

[tiffjh2]

Alright! I need some help. I'm going to apply for nursing school next fall. I'm 22 right now and 2 1/2 years ago my husband and I had a joint checking. The biggest problem was we didn't communicate in how we were spending so I ended up with a deceptive practice. I wrote a 38 dollar check to a tanning salon and I went to court, got a fine, fingerprinted, and mugshot. I felt like I robbed a bank. I'm from Illinois and I don't know about the law much because I never really been in trouble. So I was wondering if this was a felony? What troubles am I going to run into w nursing school and obtaining my license?

Note: I also got it expunged. Does that matter?

[llg, PhD, RN]

If I were in your situation, this is what I would do:

1. Collect a copy of all the court records related to your case. You never know when you might need them ... so, keep them readily available.

2. Sit down with an attorney and review all of those records so that YOU fully understand them and can explain them should you ever be asked to do that. Apparently, you don't even know whether or not the charge was a fellony or not. You need to know that kind of stuff about your own criminal record.

3. Discuss the implications of the expungement with the attorney. Will it even show up at all on a criminal background check? etc.

4. Also discuss how to answer common questions with the attorney. Let him/her advise you on how to answer the types of questions commonly found on license applications and job applications. For example, "Have you ever been charged with a felony?" "Have you ever been charged with a crime?" "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" etc. You don't want to say the wrong thing on an application -- and then be "found out" later and pay a bigger price for the "cover-up" than you would have if you had just answered the question correctly.

In short ... consult an attorney and become knowledgable about your situation. Do your homework in advance and don't wait until you are caught up in applying for jobs and a license to do that homework. We are nurses here (not lawyers) and cannot give valid legal advice.

Good luck to you. From what you explained in your OP, it sounds like the kind of thing that can be overcome, but you need to work with a lawyer to be on the safe side and learn to handle it appropriately throughout your career.