Why Don't Criminal Records Show Up for Some People

[das1000me]

My question involves labor and employment law for the state of: Pennsylvania, or any state.

Good day. Several years ago, I received one of those emails inviting me to check the criminal background on anyone for free. Out of curiosity, I entered my information (name, date of birth,...) and saw a simple assault charge (that was noted as "Withdrawn/Dismissed"). As I stated in an earlier post, my simple assault charge was the result of a domestic situation. In 2009, I called the police to curtail a potential situation between my husband and myself. They came to our home and "separated" us (they told me to go upstairs and relax for work the next day, and they told my husband to stay downstairs and cool off in front of his large-screen TV). Later, my husband started pushing me around so I called the police again. In an effort to keep him at bey, I blindly reached for several things to throw at him. One of the items was a small ashtray, which hit him on the forehead. When the police arrived, they said how they were just at our home and separated us. When they saw the bit of blood on his forehead and the bruise on my arm, they took us both in. Long story short, after explaining to the court what happened, my simple assault was marked "Withdrawn/Discharged." My husband, however, had to attend anger management classes.

My question is this, why do criminal records show up on some folks but not on others? I entered my husband's information, but NOTHING showed up on him!

[aardvarc]

It sounds like you were BOTH arrested - the difference being that your charges were dropped by the prosecutor (but the arrest record remains until and unless you're able to get it expunged), whereas he made a deal to have the record itself removed upon successful completion of the classes. Also, not all background checks are created equally - there are still places where HIS arrest would appear, but one would have to know where and how to look for it.

[das1000me]

aardvarc,

Thanks so much for your reply and info. It makes sense, now.

In December 2012, I filed to have the SA charge expunged. This past April, I received a letter from the Public Defender's Assoc. which states that the expungement was granted. Two companies that were interested in me (one actually rescinded their offer of employment to me in the 11th-hour) suddenly don't want to come near me. Could it be that the expungement is not showing up, yet? And, what's the big deal if I didn't request an expungement when the case (record) showed "Withdrawn/Dismissed?"