How long do charges stay on your record?

If you need specific legal advice for your particular circumstances, I encourage you to privately consult with a lawyer. If you are charged with an offense and cannot afford to pay for your own defense, the court may appoint you an attorney payable at the public’s expense. You have a right to counsel. Generally speaking, it is very challenging to completely scrub a person's criminal history unless the court-file is actually sealed. It has be to unusual circumstances to seal a person's file for an adult conviction or case. Occasionally, people may file a motion to have their prints destroyed. This may help erase some of the remnants. This is a separate process that requires a hearing and court-order. However, a person's charges may show up even if they are acquitted or have their case dropped by the prosecutor. The current law to expunge prior convictions; MCL 780.621 excludes convictions for misdemeanor felony or traffic offenses. If the reduced charge was a traffic misdemeanor or felony, the person is out of luck. Further, MCL 780.621 also does not really help people who had their original charge dropped or dismissed because it is used to set-aside the conviction, itself, only. Even successful applicants under this statute who get a conviction set-aside may not be able to scrub and seal components of the case which show that they were charged; however, they can truthfully say that they do not have a conviction. In many situations, the best option is to simply be honest and disclose the situation in advance. The bottom line is the end result; whether a person was convicted or what they were convicted of. It may be a better strategy to be upfront about the situation rather than have a possible employer or someone else who runs a background check discover the issue.

See an attorney, probably yes. It is an arrest, not a conviction record.

Probably not. It will always remain on your record that way unless it is sealed. You can speak to an attorney about that but it's pretty difficult to do.

It sounds to me like the plea deal that you made was not completed as agreed. Impeding traffic is a civil infraction that would not show up on a criminal background check, and likely not even appear on a driving record. You will need to check with the Court where the plea agreement was entered, and find out if and why the gun possession charge is there, and may need to have the prosecutor correct the record with the cooperation from the Court. You may also need to make sure that you did not fail to complete any requirements that were made contingent on the plea deal, such as paying any fines or costs, or any community service or counseling. I would recommend that you have a lawyer handle this for you to make sure that it is done correctly.