Originally posted by GTORickHowever, they keep a 'rap' sheet on you that never goes away. Also, business (credit apps, apartment and
employment) can legally ask if you have been arrested nowadays so even though the charges are dropped you can and will suffer for years. If you lie on
a form you will be caught because a background check always seems to have that information. The cops bank on this. 1984 is here.
You can be asked if you have been CONVICTED of a crime, most specifically stating CONVICTED of a FELONY.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All private inquiries relating to arrests, such as "Have you ever been arrested?" are unlawful in the United States. (Note: Arrests
are NOT the same as convictions. An innocent person can be arrested, remember.)
It is lawful for private parties make inquiries about convictions such as: "Have you ever been convicted of any crime? If so, when, where and
disposition of case. "Have you ever been convicted under criminal law withing the past five years (excluding minor traffic violations)?" It is
permissible to inquire about convictions for acts of dishonesty or breach of trust. Some State Laws limit lawful questioning of convictions to Felony
Charges only, unless it specifically pertains to the application (i.e., inquiring about a conviction of Misdemeanor Shoplifting would obviously be
pertinent to ask someone applying to a Retail Position).
So, you are still innocent until proven guilty. You CANNOT be lawfully discriminated against for being arrested and never proven guilty of a crime in
a Court of Law.
Contrary to popular belief...the phrase "This will go down on your permanent record" only pertains if you are running for Congress or President or
you are attempting to get a high level DoD Security Clearance.
No one really cares how many times you were arrested (even applying for a job at the FBI you'll find that they don't ask). It's what you have been
found GUILTY of that matters.
Most District Courts won't even have (let alone retain) paperwork for Arrests that were made that never made it to Trial. Most Police Departments do
not keep records on any Arrests that didn't go to Trial longer than 30 days. The only place that would have you listed on a "Rap Sheet" would be
the Jail into which you were Booked. If you want to remove all evidence of a prior Arrest for which you were not found Guilty, you can always petition
the Courts to have your Arrest Record Expunged (after paying the filing fee, usually pretty nominal...it's $45 where I live).