Juvenile Record Dismissal
My question involves expungements or pardons for the state of: California.
I pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor when I was a juvenile. I believe the charge was vandalism. I was sentenced to probation which I completed.
I am now 44. I am applying for a CA State contractor's Lic.
The form states;
Your fingerprints will be compared to the records of the California Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If you have ever been convicted of a crime, your criminal history information will be reported to CSLB. This includes DUIs and other Vehicle Code violations resulting in a misdemeanor or felony conviction. Even if you
have had your record expunged (charges reduced or dismissed), the past conviction will still be reported to CSLB.
If you have ever been convicted of a crime (felony or misdemeanor), you MUST answer “Yes” to the criminal conviction question on the application and provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances resulting in your conviction. To help ensure that you provide the required information, you should complete and submit the Disclosure Statement Regarding Criminal Plea/Conviction form that is available on CSLB’s website.
I read somewhere that California destroys juvenile records after your 38th Birthday. Is that correct, and if so, how should I answer to question?
Any advice will be helpful, Thanks.
Re: Juvenile Record Dismissal
A summary can be found here:
Quote:
Quoting Juvenile Records
Your Juvenile records do appear on your criminal record. Upon your 18th birthday, you are eligible to petition to have your juvenile records sealed. Once sealed, no one can gain access to them and they will be completely destroyed five years from the date of sealing.
Juvenile records are not automatically sealed upon your 18th birthday. You must affirmatively petition the juvenile court to have them sealed. You can do this by filing out a form and filing it with the juvenile court in the county in which you were convicted. Contact the juvenile court in the county you were convicted, and ask them to send you a copy of the form used in that county. Check to see if they have any special filing requirements such as additional photocopies or the need to serve copies of the petition on any government agencies, and get the correct information for filing by mail. Usually, there is no fee.
If you graduated from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice , your juvenile conviction(s) will have been dismissed as part of your graduation. If you do not petition to have your juvenile records sealed and destroyed, they will remain on your record until your 38th birthday, then they will be destroyed.
Re: Juvenile Record Dismissal
I just spoke with the CA Dept. of Justice Records division. They informed me that I would need to file for an expungement. Apparently the information that was provided does not apply unless you "...graduated..." as was quoted from CA state court self help site.
"If you graduated from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice , your juvenile conviction(s) will have been dismissed as part of your graduation. If you do not petition to have your juvenile records sealed and destroyed, they will remain on your record until your 38th birthday, then they will be destroyed."
Can anyone clarify this that has prior experience with this?
Re: Juvenile Record Dismissal
Per what Mr. KnowItAll quoted, and you also, it appears that your records were destroyed on your 38th birthday. Since you are now 44, you could answer "No". Any background check done by the company will not show a conviction as that conviction no longer exists.
Re: Juvenile Record Dismissal
Per what I indicated in my second post. The CA State Department of Justice, Criminal Records Division has informed me that the quote from Mr Knowitall is incorrect. The State state told me that I have to file for expungement.
Maybe the state has given me incorrect information.
I have sent for a copy of my criminal record from the state to see if the record has actually been destroyed or not. I will repost when I receive copy from the state.
As far as M'sta Mikey's post about answering "no" and any background check done by company won't show up: If he had read my first post thoroughly, it's clear that I am applying for a CA State License, not a job with a company. I believe State law in CA requires you answer "Yes, Dismissed" when applying for CA State Contractors license. I believe that CA doesn't actually destroy Juvenile records until 5 years after expungement.
Again, if anyone has any actual experience with this, please reply.