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Criminal Defense Q&A: Do I Have to Disclose an Expunged Conviction from 10 Years Ago?

Question:

I am applying to be a substitute teacher. I will need to do a Live Scan fingerprint back ground check. 10 years ago, when I was a minor, I was adjudicated for a felony. My charges have since been expunged. The form I am filling out it asking me “Have you ever been convicted, fined, placed on probation, given a suspended sentence, or forfeited bail in connection with any violation of law, regardless of any subsequent court dismissal or expungement, with the exception of minor traffic violations such as parking or speeding?” and I am afraid that if I answer “yes” it will disqualify me. Would my charge show up on a California Live Scan fingerprint test? Should I disclose my charge?

Answer:

An adverse juvenile adjudication is different from an adult conviction. Once a juvenile offender — that is, a person who committed an offense when he was 17 or younger — successfully completes probation, the Court is required to dismiss the juvenile’s petition; seal all of the Court’s records regarding that petition; and order the police, the Probation Department, and the Department of Justice to seal all of their records regarding the petition as well. See Welfare and Institutions Code 786(a).

Not only that, but each agency must inform the Court that it has complied with the Court’s order and has actually sealed the records. Finally, the Court must give notice to the juvenile and his attorney that the Court issued all of these orders. Welfare and Institutions Code 786(a).

Once a juvenile’s record is sealed, he can lawfully state to prospective employers, colleges, or anyone else that he has never been arrested or prosecuted for the sealed offense. Welfare and Institutions Code section 786(b).

The only exception to this rule is if (1) the offense that the juvenile convicted is listed in Welfare and Institutions Code 707(b); and (2) the juvenile was 14 or older when he committed the offense. In that case, the juvenile’s record cannot be sealed, even if the juvenile successfully completed his probation. See Welfare and Institutions Code sections 786(d), 781(a)(1)(D), 707(b). 707(b) offenses are much more serious and include arson, robbery, kidnapping, and assault by means likely to cause great bodily injury.

Essentially, as long as the underlying offense was not enumerated in Welfare and Institutions Code 707(b), then all records of this juvenile incident should have been sealed by the Court. Prospective employers do not have access to sealed juvenile records. And juveniles who have had their records sealed do not have to disclose their prior arrests and adverse adjudications, even if asked. Welfare and Institutions Code section 786(b).

Continue reading criminal defense attorney Michael J. Ocampo’s answer at Avvo: Do I have to disclose an expunged charge from 10 years ago?

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