{"id":6701,"date":"2020-06-28T17:08:03","date_gmt":"2020-06-28T21:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=6701"},"modified":"2020-06-28T17:08:30","modified_gmt":"2020-06-28T21:08:30","slug":"expunged-records-will-a-background-check-still-find-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/expunged-records-will-a-background-check-still-find-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Expunged Records: Will a Background Check Still Find Them?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Living with the aftermath of a crime is no easy feat. A person who’s gone through jail or prison time has to continually live with their injustices. But there is hope for some. Expunged records provide ex-offenders a second chance at life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, no expunction is perfect. Keep reading to learn more about expungement and background checks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is an Expungement?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An expungement erases a criminal conviction from a state or federal record. The expungement requires that the courts treat the record as it never happened. The process ensures that the defendant’s conviction is removed from their criminal and public records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s important to note that expungements are not the same thing as pardons. A cleaned record isn’t the “forgiveness” of a crime. Legal pardons are often granted by public officials, while expunged records are ordered by a judge or court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each state governs the laws concerning what records are eligible for expungement. They also determine the process for application and eligibility for expunctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, juvenile criminal records<\/a> are the cases that most states allow for expunction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Limitations of an Expungement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While an expungement helps remove criminal activity off of certain records, it doesn’t delete the information from the press, social media, or Google. Additional information about the conviction may exist beyond the court’s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without legal action, the courts can’t remove interviews, social media posts, news stories, or sometimes arrest reports. Unfortunately, expunctions don’t entirely erase public records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can Expunged Records Show up on Background Checks?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When a background check is requested, the report may contain information from expunged records. When a criminal record undergoes expungement, it doesn’t completely disappear. Copies of convictions are in several public and private archives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a background checking company runs a report, they receive data from a variety of sources. Sometimes a conviction will appear in one directory and not the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with this situation is that the background agency must report everything discovered. Ultimately, an expunged record in this situation won’t matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to Do If an Expunged Record Is Uncovered<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thankfully, it’s rare to have an expunged record show up on a background check. But if it happens, the applicant has the right to dispute the results found within the report. If an applicant disputes the results of the background check, the agency that ran it has 30 days to redo it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 If the county where the crime was committed still has the expunged record on file during the second attempt, the background agency must report their findings once again. In that scenario, the applicant must prove that the records found were expunged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing so requires certification from a judge of disposition, and a record of expungement to provide to the background checking company. The agency will then verify the documentation with a judge and update the background report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also send the information to the county so they can also update their database and remove the conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Benefits of Expungement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Criminal records are meant to give non stop justice<\/a> to victims. But for ex-criminals, it causes difficulty in many areas. Thankfully, an expunction can lighten the burden in these areas:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Employment is a huge barrier for people with a prior conviction. There aren’t many companies that are willing to hire a person with a criminal past. However, an expunction gives individuals a greater chance of employment and earning an income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many landlords and apartment communities run background checks on potential residents. If an individual has a record, it could mean denial of a rental application. Expunged records make it easier for people with a criminal history to get housing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Post education institutions also run background checks on applicants. For adolescents who had unlawful behavior in their youth, that could be a roadblock to getting accepted into college. But as previously stated, many expungements are granted to individuals with juvenile criminal records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social Acceptance<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty of resources that allow the public to check a person’s criminal background. Although an expungement can’t remove all public information about a crime, it can minimize the effect of the conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the event that a past offense resurfaces, an expungement helps to relieve the impact of it. If a court of law was willing to erase the crime off of records, then the people around the convicted individual might be willing to forgive the transgression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal Satisfaction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although an expungement won’t take back the crime that was committed, it does provide a sense of redemption for the offender. For most ex-lawbreakers moving on is hard, especially when there’s a record following them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A criminal record is a way to warn the public of a person’s prior behavior. On the other hand, it’s a burden for individuals who have truly changed. It can’t change the past, but it can improve the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Chance at a Brighter Tomorrow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, expunged records can make a world of difference in a person’s life. If your criminal history is cleaned, keep your records on hand in case you run into any trouble when applying for jobs or housing. You should also regularly check county records and have them updated if there are any discrepancies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you learn anything from this article? If so, feel free to take a look at the rest of our blog. We cover a variety of topics from business advice to auto repair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re sure you’ll discover something that you never knew before. Check us out!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living with the aftermath of a crime is no easy feat. A person who’s gone through jail or prison time has to continually live with their injustices. But there is hope for some. Expunged records provide ex-offenders a second chance at life. However, no expunction is perfect. Keep reading to learn more about expungement and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6701"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6703,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions\/6703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}