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Arrests, Convictions and Citations...


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A number of people on this forum have asked questions regarding their interactions with the legal community and the implications of those interactions on their future career as a PA.  I thought I'd chime in with a few general guidelines.

 

First, I'm no judge, lawyer or admissions staff.  I left healthcare and spent 5 years as a Deputy Sheriff in Maryland answering 911 calls, investigating cases and dealing with the court system.  I was certified in Maryland and in California but left to go back to school to become a PA.  I'll try and keep this advice generalized.  If, however, you have a state specific question that you can't get an answer to, IM me and I'll try to help.

 

Arrests:

 

Some states are allowed by law to ask about arrest history.  All an arrest means is that a law enforcement officer believed it was more probable than not that you broke a law; that's all the term "probable cause" boils down to.  It can be used as a character factor.  Meaning, if you were arrested for drug possession 17 times but never convicted, those 17 "separate" incidents may be saying something about your character.

 

If you were fingerprinted during an arrest, that file doesn't go away.  The fingerprints are kept at a part of the FBI known as IAFIS and don't get deleted.  That's all.  States have different rules on these records, but the feds keep it all.  So, if you were fingerprinted as part of an arrest and a background check with IAFIS is done, it will come up.

 

Convictions:

 

A conviction is different than an arrest.  A conviction means you were found guilty by a court of law.  Either you plead guilty or were found guilty by either a judge or jury.  If you did a "plea bargain", you plead guilty to one or more of the charges.  Jail time is a different matter.  You can be convicted of a crime and put on probation without ever being in jail.  This is still a conviction.

 

Some states have differed adjudication or probation before judgment.  This is a plea deal where you agree to some terms (like not getting arrested again for anything for three years, and complete anger management courses, as an example) and, if you do these terms successfully, the case is dismissed.  If you completed all of the terms, ensure the court records make the change.  After that, you are not a convicted criminal.

 

Some states have a similar thing called "stet".  A Latin term, it means that the court puts your case aside for a period of time (say, a year).  If, after that year, you have been a good boy or girl, the case is dropped. Make sure the court has made the appropriate change, then, you are not a convicted criminal.

 

Expungement is where you get a conviction kicked out.  It means the court basically says: "yeah you did it, but you get a mulligan".  If your record was expunged, you are not a convicted criminal.

 

If you are convicted and do your time, pay your fine, what have you, and nothing else, you are a convicted criminal.  Convictions are a line.  Either you are or you aren't. The fuzzy part is when you are, then you aren't.  Those are your expungements, deferred adjudications, etc.

 

Oh, if you were issued a citation and paid it without going to court, you pled guilty.  However, in most states traffic laws are different than criminal laws, so traffic tickets are not criminal convictions.

 

I can't think of anything else pertinent right now.  If anyone can think of a commonly asked area I missed let me know and I'll edit.  Hope this helps some.  

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Hi Cop to PA!  Thanks for providing your feedback on this issue.  I was just wondering, if you request to have your arrest and court disposition information removed from your criminal history database, would it still show up in IAFIS?  According to CA DOJ, it states:

 

Arrest and court disposition information can only be modified or deleted by court order or at the direction of the arresting agency/district attorney having jurisdiction over the criminal matter. The Department of Justice is required to record summary arrest, detention, disposition, and personal identification information when submitted by a law enforcement agency or court of this state. The record retention policy of the Department is to maintain criminal history information until the subject of the record reaches 100 years of age.

 

So I just had some questions about that.  Thanks!

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This stuff can be very complex - if you have concerns, you might want to (anonymously) contact the licensing board in the location where you intend to practice and run the circumstances by them. A criminal history may not disqualify you from getting into PA school but it might impact your ability to get licensed. Under some circumstances you may be required to appear before the board as part of the licensing process and explain in minute detail what happened.

 

Misdemeanors involving drugs and alcohol may be viewed differently than other misdemeanors like shoplifting. Even the same offense in different locations can have very different consequences. For example, there are states that treat drunk driving like a felony; here in NJ a first episode is handled more like a traffic offense.

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IAFIS records stay until:

7 years after you die

You turn 99 years old

Civilian records (for backgrounds), when you turn 75.

 

An arresting agency or a court order can have them removed. The arresting agency will only do it if they made a mistake when putting it in.

 

A court order to have an IAFIS expunged or deleted is unusual, and you would have to specifically ask for it.

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  • 5 months later...

my friend who is a PA is in jail right now calling me asking me to find out how this will affect her license. She was in a fight with her domestic partner and hit her- they both hit each other. I have been looking online. I know that she will have to answer for herself but I cant tell if that is jumping through hoops and doing the work, or if it is she cant practice again. She is in Montana. 

Thanks 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi NikkiO - 

 

People worry a lot about their GPA in applying to PA school. In reality, there are a bunch of things equally or more important. One of these things - actually, one of the major things - a program is trying to assess is a candidate's judgement. As a medical provider you are called on to exercise sound judgement every day. People pay for your judgement and trust that it is well developed.

 

A run in with the law suggests an episode of poor judgement and how big a deal it would be would have to be decided on a case-by-case basis. In the case of theft, I might have nightmares about a student swiping something from a clinical site and doing irreparable harm to that relationship. As others have suggested, the best thing to do is come clean and demonstrate very clearly that something was learned from the episode. We all screw stuff up, and a program will want to see that you were able to make a learning experience out of it.

 

A lot of programs would put drugs and alcohol in a high-risk category. Placing someone with a history of substance abuse in a very high-stress educational program is grounds for concern. Again, it would have to be case-by-case. A student with a long history of abstinence or success in a 12 step program may be able to alleviate these concerns.

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I'm going to out myself here: I've gotten into trouble with the law in my past, with some underage drinking citations and a shoplifting conviction on my record. The underage drinking was >10 years ago and shoplifting 6 years ago, and I've been active in 12 step recovery since 2012 (I'll celebrate 5 years in April).

 

I know what I did was wrong and I've made every effort to take responsibility for my actions. I used to make really bad choices; I wake up and make the decision to not do those things every day now. I understand that providers are accountable to themselves and each other, and that medical training and practice are both stressful. I get that. I've crafted my personal essay to address my past (without being explicit) and to show how not only have I taken responsibility for my past and grown from it, but also that those experiences helped to mold me into a person I think will make a great provider. I've learned to practice honesty, integrity, accountability, kindness, and compassion in my everyday life - I think those principles translate well into practicing medicine. I was in my early 20's when I was making those choices, feeling like my actions didn't affect anyone but myself. I'm encroaching upon 30 now and I realize the world doesn't revolve around me; guys, I think I've matured. I guess I was a late bloomer.

 

The reason I wrote all of that is to ask this: At what point do I disclose my history? I think I look like a pretty strong candidate on paper; high GPAs, work experience in both behavioral health and intensive care, solid references, solid extracurriculars, lots of shadowing. As I haven't gone through the application process before, is a background check part of the CASPA application? My worst fear is to gain acceptance somewhere only to have it withdrawn due to my criminal history. Do I address it during the interview? 

 

Even though this is a mostly anonymous forum, I feel quite vulnerable having exposed my past to yall. I love the PA profession and I love this forum; it's been a fantastic resource over the past three years as I've walked the path toward applying. I look up to people like EMEDPA and Rev. I'm not trying to quell any/all negativity concerning what I've written, I'm just trying to say that I believe in myself in spite of my record and think I'll make a great PA. It's taken 5 years and a lot of damn hard work to go from barely able to look people in the eye to the self-confidence I have today. Life is good, thanks for reading.

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Multiple episodes might be more concerning to a program. They can indicate a pattern of poor judgement rather than a single "oops." I think everyone understands we are all human, though. In my own youthful exuberance I'm hypothetically sure that I may have done some things that could have jammed me up if the long arm of the law had been around.

 

I think most programs do a background check as part of the matriculation process after you have been accepted. At that point, you know the program likes you. You just need to explain the above to make them want to keep you! Know that in some circumstances the decision may not rest with the program. Decisions about background checks may come down from higher in a school's admin.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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