If you've been arrested for a crime but the charges were dismissed, you may think you're in the clear regarding having a criminal record. Think again. An arrest is considered a criminal record, even when the charges are dismissed. In some states, these types of arrest records are sealed; however, they can still be seen by some background checks and government entities. It would be in your best interest to have your arrest record expunged. Here's why and how to achieve that.
You May Be Asked If You've Ever Been Arrested
There's likely to be at least one point in your life when you will be asked if you've ever been arrested. This question is commonly found on applications for employment, housing rentals, and loans. Even if the charges were dropped or dismissed, you will need to answer this question in the affirmative unless you successfully have the records expunged.
It's important to note that potential employers are regulated on how they use information they gather from employment applications and criminal background checks, which means they cannot discriminate against you for having an arrest and dismissed charges on your records. However, they most certainly can discriminate against you for providing false information on your application. Fortunately for you, having your record expunged legally gives you the right to answer "no" when you're asked if you've ever been arrested.
Contact a Criminal Record Expungement Lawyer
Consult with a criminal record expungement lawyer for information on how to successfully expunge the arrest record from your criminal history. Expungement of a criminal record means it will no longer show up in public records. It will, however, still show up for people in the criminal justice system. For example, if you are arrested for a simple assault or a DUI, the responding police officer will be able to see your prior arrest record, even when those records have been expunged. Since the charges were dismissed in your case, you may not have a lengthy process to achieve expungement.
The timeframe and the requirements you need to meet before you submit a petition to the court for expungement are dependent upon the laws in your state and perhaps on your municipality as well. The petition needs to be filed in the jurisdiction where the arrest took place. You will not be able to file the petition until after you've completed your requirements, such as paying for the filing fees and court costs which, again, differs by state and jurisdiction.
Search for Newspaper Articles Regarding Your Arrest
One thing that is not automatic when you've been arrested and the charges were dismissed or you've successfully had the arrest expunged is the deletion of the arrest from the Internet and newspapers. Go to every search engine you can think of and do a search for: "Your Name" +arrested. By placing a plus sign in front of the word arrested, you can easily narrow down the search results to find articles and posts about your arrest. If you find something, contact the business or company and request for them to remove the article from their archives.
Several well-known newspapers are removing this type of harmful information from their archives. Your criminal record expungement lawyer may have more information regarding the specific newspapers and online sources in the area where your arrest took place. By having these articles removed from the archives, you add another layer of protection from having the arrest discovered, even after the expungement.
Contact a criminal record expungement law firm in the county or jurisdiction where the arrest took place to get started on the process of expunging the arrest from your criminal record as well as from newspapers and the Internet.
