QUESTION
Do I have to legally say that I appeared in court as a defendant against criminal charges?
Asked on Oct 22nd, 2013 on Criminal Law - Massachusetts
More details to this question:
I was arrested for A&B on a Saturday night, was booked, and spent a few hours in jail before being bailed out. On that Monday, thanks to my lawyer, I was given a continuance on my arraignment for a month. During that month my lawyer managed to convince the Assistant DA to allow my case to be remanded to a Clerk Magistrate's hearing. At this hearing the charges were dropped. My question is in regards to any criminal record that I might have. Since I was never arraigned, was I never formally charged with the A&B - meaning that I have no criminal record? Or does the fact that I was arrested mean that I have a criminal record and the CORI includes that I was arrested for A&B? Do I have to legally say that I appeared in court as a defendant against criminal charges? I appeared in court, but never was formally charged, right? In my case, would there be any difference between a Massachusetts criminal background check and an FBI criminal background check?
1 ANSWER
You were not arraigned; therefore, you were never charged with a crime. You can state on any applications that you have not been charged with a crime. I would get a certified copy of the court docket sheet on the case to show that the case was sent back to the clerk. Keep it for your records. You have a problem with the FBI. You have an arrest record which is different from a CORI. The FBI get copies of all fingerprints for those arrested in Massachusetts. The best you can do is clarify or update the FBI record.
Answered on Oct 23rd, 2013 at 4:28 PM