What does expungement do and what doesn it do?
Lots of great comments, just one thing to add: I recently had to have a background check done on myself. (It came back spotless, not that I was, uh, worried about anything…) I did do a little looking beforehand into what gets included in criminal background checks. I got the impression–just the impression–that the number of years back into the past that the investigating company would look might be based on when records started to be made available electronically rather than any sort of statute of limitations or sunset clause. I’d expect that to vary among jurisdictions, maybe a lot, but the general point is this: in the future, records like this will probably be much easier to obtain, and expungement will be that much more important if you can get it. (Not a lawyer, etc. etc.
I have never had to report a misdemeanor, here ins CA, except for on a few unusually vague mass-produced job applications (“Have you ever been convicted of a crime?”). That said, the one time I brought it up, I was not exactly rewarded for my honesty, but my conviction was not so altruistic as yours. I would assume expungement would preclude overturning of the conviction, but that either one leaves your record in similarly pristine shape. Rental Agreements: no way. Job Apps: Hardly ever, and your crime is one of the better misdemeanors to disregard as an employer. Grad SchoolApps: I can testify to No, though financial aid often wants to know of drug related charges.
I think the meaning of expungement is that the conviction goes away entirely; it never happened at all. It’s not that it doesn’t show, it’s that it never was a conviction. So I don’t think you’re lying if you say you were not convicted of anything. If a foreign country’s law says that expungements don’t count unless granted by that country, then you are lying to immigration agents if you say you were never convicted of a crime.
