Quote Originally Posted by Doc45 View Post
My brother has a good friend (I know him fairly well too) that had a deferred judgement along with sealing of the record. He was informed by both the judge and his attorney that if ever asked "have you been arrested and or convicted of a crime?" he could legally answer "no". A few years go by, he has purchased firearms through ffls and answered "no" wtih no problems-got the nics clearances. Last year he applies for a l.e. job, he answered "no", was ruled out in the initial go-round. He said a friend of his with said dept. told him that even though the record on his case was sealed it showed on their background search. Interesting, no?
When I was doing background investigations I often ran into this issue, sealed or ex-sponged arrests due to a differed sentence or a differed prosecution. It doesn't matter what you think is hidden, sealed, or removed, LE agencies will see it. The report we received reflected ALL arrests, not just convictions. That is the key, many people think the question is only pertaining to convictions and don't think beyond that. Not sure why they would think that, but if you have ever been "processed" and released then you have been arrested, and if asked "Have you ever been arrested?" then answer YES and explain it. Just some advice.