Does a Petty Misdemeanor Charge of Marijuana Possession Show Up on a Background Check

[qwerty1]

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Minnesota

This summer I received a possession of marijuana ticket. It was my first ever offense (besides one speeding ticket), and, similar to the speeding ticket, the charge was a petty misdemeanor and required the payment of a fine. Not knowing what to really do and without consulting anyone, I decided to just pay the fine. The officer told me that the charge was just a petty misdemeanor, "just like a speeding ticket," he said.

I am very unfamiliar with laws and policies (and like I said, this was my first ever offense so I have no experience dealing with this) and I wanted to find out if this will be something that shows up on background checks (in general, I know not all background checks are the same and some are more thorough than others). I am a 21 year old college junior so I will hopefully be applying for career jobs soon. I want to be a teacher and a basketball coach. Will this charge affect my ability to get a career like that?

Finally, I have seen a lot of conflicting articles and blogs while googling for information and I can't seem to find any consistent answer to a few other questions. Since Minnesota is a decriminalized state, will this petty misdemeanor charge ever even appear on my criminal record? And also, if it does show up, is there any action I can take to get it removed, given that I have already paid the fine (and in essence plead guilty)?

Any information would be greatly appreciated, the more thorough the better.

Thanks everyone for your time and answers.

[ESteele]

Unless someone with intimate knowledge of Minnesota law responds to your post, you may be best served by consulting directly with a local attorney to ascertain whether “marijuana tickets” are reported like misdemeanor criminal offenses or moving violations traffic tickets.

You should also check on the expungement law in Minnesota.

Finally, Minnesota prohibits “irrational” discrimination against ex-offenders in public employment. You will want to confer with local counsel whether this state anti-discrimination law would prohibit a public employer (e.g., a public school system) from denying you a job based on your marijuana possession ticket.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Read this.

Your complete Minnesota criminal record is a combination of all of the files and records of any felony, gross misdemeanor, misdemeanor, or petty misdemeanor(s) ever charged against you in Minnesota; as well as the sentences served for those charges. Every city, county and state law enforcement agency, prosecutor's office and courthouse keeps its own records.

You can ask the court to seal one or more criminal cases. This is called "expungement." This action does not erase your criminal case record, but it does limit who can see it. Read about Criminal Expungement on the MN Judicial Branch's Self-Help Center website for more information about sealing criminal records, or contact a clerk at your county courthouse and ask for the expungement paperwork.

With a conviction, expungements are difficult to obtain and pertain only to court records. Also, as a petty misdemeanor is not technically a crime, I'm not certain that the expungement statutes would apply - I did not dig into that issue to determine an answer, one way or the other, although this suggests the possibility.