QUESTION
Why would a Texas state jail felony deferred adjudication arrest/charge not show up on criminal history background check?
Asked on Dec 14th, 2013 on Criminal Law - Texas
More details to this question:
I was arrested and charged with a Texas state jail felony in 1996. I was sentenced to 4 years deferred adjudication. Today I ran a criminal record search through the Texas Department of Public Safety website. This is the first time I have ever done this. The search turned up only a misdemeanor charge I had in 1997. The state jail felony arrest/charge/conviction/dismissal or any record of it at all is NOT there. I understand that completing my terms of deferred adjudication would then result in a dismissal charges or in other words no conviction, but it was also my understand that the arrest would still show up on my record. Do you have any idea why my criminal history check with Texas DPS would not show that arrest or the results thereof?
1 ANSWER
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The case may not have been properly reported to CCH by the court where your case was resolved. The CCH is the specific database used by DPS. Records of convictions and deferreds are supposed to be sent to it to be compiled. The case and its disposition may still show up in other databases in use for criminal case/disposition searches. Also, a more thorough criminal case search would almost undoubtedly turn up that old case and the results thereof. Look yourself up in publicdata.com to see if your record on the felony turns up.
If you successfully completed the deferred you should consider having the records sealed. That would prevent most entities from being able to search and find those same records.
Answered on Dec 17th, 2013 at 3:46 PM