QUESTION
I have a misdemeanor in Ma and non conviction dating 6 years. Will it show on my CORI check?
Asked on May 10th, 2014 on Criminal Law - Massachusetts
More details to this question:
I did an open cori check on myself and it's not on my record. But how can I know which category my employer would use to do a cori check on me. I understand that there open, standard and 4 additional categories to do a cori check. I do background check every year for the past five years. And it's been always fine. But this is a little different type of check. I understand misdemeanor after 5 years with no conviction won't show on most checks, such as public/open and even on standard check. How can I know for sure. I'm looking into sealing my record for that case. But it won't be done fast enough as I have my check coming up in few weeks.
1 ANSWER
You are correct, dismissals are generally not disseminated to the public with a Cori check; however, certain employers have full access to your criminal record, including dismissals. The only thing you can do to change that is to seal your record. If the misdemeanor is five years or older, it can be administratively sealed with the Commissioner of Probation. Although the record is sealed it does not necessarily mean that the employer will not find out about that misdemeanor offense. If you were arrested and fingerprinted, the FBI will have an arrest record which includes your name and the charge associated with your fingerprints. The arrest record should be updated to confirm that the charges were dismissed. You may want to consult a Massachusetts criminal attorney to seal your Cori record and update your arrest record with the FBI. For further information on these issues see the blog section of my website at www.JohnEDeVito.com. Unfortunately this process cannot be done in a short period of time, it usually takes 10 to 12 weeks to seal the Cori record and update the FBI arrest record.
Answered on May 12th, 2014 at 8:23 AM