When a felony case is reduced to a misdemeanor how long will the public record report it, 7 years or forever?
Due to the passing of the Patriot Act many offenses that would not have been revealed to the public are now easy access for anyone who runs a background check on you. I have been told that after 7 years midemeanors will no longer appear on these background checks. I’d like to confirm that if someone knows for sure. I know that a felony charge will stay on public record forever. So if it was originally a felony case, but then reduced to a misdemeanor what rule applies? The conviction would be a misdemeanor so that should apply, but you just never know.
Tags: Background Check, Background Checks, Misdemeanor, Patriot Act, Public Record
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 pm
The Patriot Act did no such thing. Before, and after, the Patriot Act, any offense committed by a citizen and prosecuted by the government was a public record, and it could be accessed by anyone who requested information about it.
There are two ways that something does not appear on your public record. The first is if the offense is made non-public at the time of the hearing. This happens with some incidents involving minors, or first-time drug possession disputes, or other offenses. If a court determines you are eligible for a non-public record, the court may seal the record and make it available to the public only upon a good-cause showing to the court.
If you have exceeded a certain number of years since an offense took place, you may request to have your record expunged. A court may determine that your record should no longer bear the hallmark of a minor infraction from many years ago.
Depending on your state, the length of time may vary. Otherwise, any and every criminal offense you commit, misdemeanor or felony, will be available to the public upon request at any time, to anyone who asks. The Patriot Act did not change this. You’ll have to consult state law or the court where the conviction took place to request it expunged.