Originally Posted by
Dubai Stu
Expunged convictions do show up on police databases. They do not show up on standard background checks. I know on presentence reports prepared in criminal sentencing, they pick up old expunged convictions, pleas under advisements, etc.
In some states, if a conviction is properly
expunged, it doesn't.
Sealed records are available to law enforcement.
Originally Posted by
Dubai Stu
On the Canadian side, the RCMP fingerprinting service even has a special form you fill out for US Homeland Security authorizing them to release information about pardoned offenses. I am doing a friend's expungment and she had a funky entry about a marijuana ticket in Canada in the 1970s and I had to get one of these checks for the US Courts.
If your record is deleted in NCIC (see below), then there is nothing for DHS or the FBI to give to Canada. A deleted record is deleted; it no longer exists.
Originally Posted by
Dubai Stu
Look at your state statute, there are often statutory exemptions listed about who can see your expunged conviction. This often includes applying for jobs in law enforcement, applying for certain positions working with children, etc. I tell people to think of these adjudications as "sheltered" (e.g. partially protected) rather than eradicated. I know that our local CCW board sees expunged convictions as well. Additionally, US immigration law specifically says that a conviction that is set aside based on rehabilitation can still be considered in deportation proceedings.
I am familiar my state's laws and procedures and an expungement deletes records. Here is some information about how it works in my state, Illinois:
http://www.state.il.us/defender/expf...7instguide.pdf
EXPUNGEMENT results in a record being destroyed.
(emphasis added)
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.g...punge0204h.pdf
In Illinois, an expungement order issued by a Circuit Court is an order to the police (both the arresting authority and the State Police) to delete and destroy all their records of the arrest. The Clerk of Court then deletes her records of the case. Once your record is deleted with the Illinois State Police, you need to check to make sure they deleted your record from NCIC as well. While it should be automatic, the Illinois State Police needs to submit an updated R-84 to the FBI with the court-ordered expungement box checked and with a copy of the expungement order.
If a certified or authenticated copy of a court ordered expungement is submitted with the R-84 Final Disposition Report, please check the box "Court Ordered Expungement," on the R-84 Final Disposition Report and attach the court order.
An expungement is a deletion of a single arrest or an entire Record. Each state employs unique forms for submitting expungement information to the CJIS Division to ensure the Criminal History Record at the FBI is expunged.
(emphasis added)
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/fin...ion-submission
You may be basing your assertions on the laws of other states, or you may be confusing "sealing" with "expungment". In Illinois, a sealed conviction can be viewed by law enforcement; an expunged conviction cannot because
the records are deleted and/or destroyed.