Charges dismissed at the arraignment

I was charged with petty theft, and was arrested and booked with my fingerprints taken and everything. I was put in jail and got out on bail.

6 weeks later I had my court date. At the court, my PD said that the DA had dismissed my case. I go in to court and get called up. The judge said "Your case is dismissed", and I walked out. The whole thing lasted about 10 seconds.

Question is... does this mean that it is just like nothing ever happened on a background check? Will my background check say i was charged but was later dismissed? And what about my arrest record now? Can anyone find out about these charges or is it like nothing ever happened?

Thank you for any help.

You may be eligible to have the arrest record sealed under the California Penal Code, Section 851.8.

Go to the record department and try to pick up your fingerprints. Some states will give then pack to you. That way your prints are not on record.

Thank you for the responses.

Do you know if this incident will still show up on background checks or not? (Since I was arrested but the charges were dismissed)

If you were arrested and the arrest was not sealed, you should anticipate that it could show up.

I think it would only show up in that city and county computer as dismissed. It should'nt show anything on other city computers. The best way to find out is to ask your state for a copy of your records.

If someone check your "city" records, it may be noticed unless you move to different city. The same thing may be with "county" records.

Treatment of arrest records can vary by state. Are you sure that's the case for California?

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Quoting aaron

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Treatment of arrest records can vary by state. Are you sure that's the case for California?

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No, Michigan.

After being booked, there will be a record of the arrest with both the state of CA, the involved local agencies (law enforcement agency making report and/or arrest as well as the jail where he was booked) and the court.

However, most private employers in CA do not have access to arrest or conviction data in most cases, so they will never know unless you tell them. They cannot even ASK about arrests - only convictions.

Here are two links:

http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp...imlawclean.htm (to clear a record)

And,

http://caag.state.ca.us/fingerprints/security.htm (to review a state record)

- Carl

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Quoting Guilty Or Not Guilty

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No, Michigan.

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The question relates to California.