Question about police records..

M

mcphigon

Greenlighter
Joined
Mar 24, 2004
Messages
12
My girlfriend has sent me on a mission to figure out what the hell is going on, so i'm gonna try to word this the best i can...

Over year ago she got busted with a paraphanelia charge and possesion of a small amount of marijuana(.1g's), now she's worked a few jobs since then and has always come back clear on the background checks...

She got an opportunity to work in a very nice nursing home and making nice money, BUT, her background check this time came back POSITIVE...now, she went to her court date, and they told her nothing would be put on her record as long as she completed the ARD courses(for drugs and alcohol i guess)...if they told her that, then why would a background check come back positive if it came back negative 3 times before that?


Could this be a mistake or is there gonna be a record there until she 100% completes the classes(she hasn't started them yet, that's in january)?

She said she's tried to talk to the police, and they basically tell her she's SOL, should she contact her public defendant about it? or who?
 
I've had a similar thing happen to me for a charge that was supposed to be dropped. Can't remember what happened exactly to take care of it, but I went to the public defendent i had as well as the courthouse to get the records, and then went to the police. It was long and drawn out and sucked ass. And mine always came back negative until i went to work for a pharmacy in the hospital and was pulled midshift until i could take care of it.
 
jam uh, let's say there's a hypothetical state which has a misdemeanor-level penalty for possession of under 28g, and a felony-level penalty for possession of more than that. If someone is caught with *any* amount of pot under 28g, why would they not be charged with the misdemeanor? Do you really think the cop, district attorney, or judge will say, "Well, it's such a small amount, I'm just going to let the person go"? These people believe in the jobs they are doing, and to them any amount of pot is an opportunity to make an arrest, file charges, and/or impose a punishment. For the purposes of our hypothetical state, there would be no difference between being caught with 27.9g and 0.1g.

Furthermore, possession of a tiny amount is arguably evidence that the person possessed a greater amount in the recent past (even though the tiny amount alone is enough to support the charges).
 
^ yep

i know someone who got charged with possession after the cop found a stem in the ashtray thingy between the front seat
 
i can vouge for that, i was charged with possession of less than an oz for a FLAKE of resin in a pipe.
 
Is ARD a pre-trial program in which the charges are suspended until completion of the program, after which they are dropped and expunged? The background check could be hitting because her record shows that she has pending charges.
 
Why is it showing up now? Well, there are several possibilities.

1. Usually it takes a while before things show up.
2. If they have the means of having a real NCIC check (they shouldn't) it will show the arrest reagrdless of whether it's been cleared.
3. Unless it was a conditional plea of nolo contendre, suspending sentencing until a condition is met at which pint the charge is dismissed(sometimes called diversion and terms very from state to state) then she will likely have to get her record expunged after the terms of suspend sentence is complete.

Just a side note, legally they can not disqualify someone for having a criminal record unless they can prove a compelling reason that the offense provides an immediate risk to the position. Usually, they will justify not hiring due to lying on the application. If you tell the truth, they jsut won't hire you and good lick proving why. Further, since she would be caring for others, they could make a reasonable argument that she MIGHT use again and endanger the welfare of the patients.

Either way, once the classes are done and the term of sentence is complete, she should be able to get it expunged without much problem.
 
Getting the arrest expunged should be her top priority. An arrest for possession is an arrest for possession. People will throw her resume in the trash, and no it's not fair. :\
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top