Quote Originally Posted by Ingman View Post
See Hafelfinger v. Dist. Court which reads:
"In the context of a deferred judgment and sentence, a "conviction" occurs upon the acceptance by the trial court of the defendant's plea of guilty; whereas, a "judgment of conviction" occurs, if at all, when it is determined that the defendant has violated the conditions of the deferred judgment and sentence, in which case the trial court must impose a sentence."

See also People v. Allaire which reads:

"Section 18-12-108 applies to persons “previously convicted.” It contains no reference to judgment or judgment of conviction. We conclude that the phrase “previously convicted,” in § 18-12-108 does not refer to a previous judgment of conviction. The element is satisfied by proof of a guilty plea and deferred judgment; a judgment of conviction and sentencing are not required"

I am not a lawyer and I'm not going to speculate on how your friend and K may be different, but the precedent on this matter suggests that your friend may wish to consult an attorney regarding the legality of his firearm possession. My limited understanding is that this situation does not create an entry in any database that will prevent one from passing the background check, but that possession remains illegal unless (and this is a gray area) the court records are sealed. The specifics of K's case (and your friend's as you describe it) mean that those records aren't eligible for sealing. You can contact me via PM if you want more explanation.
Hafelfinger is a 1984 decision and there have been a number of decisions since based upon it. None of them are indicative of how you are interpreting it from what I've read so far.

Upon charging in court, there is a record of the original charges that are available in CCIC/NCIC that the Instacheck techs in CBI immediately see, to include whether they are felonies or misdemeanors. They then have to research the finality of the case to its conclusion through the same court record. If that record shows a dismissal, they will authorize a purchase. Court records are only sealed from the general public, not law enforcement, so your point about sealing isn't correct.