I have called the local county court and was told that you can definitely get records expunged from your record providing you have only like 1 or 2 other misdemeanors (I forgot) - and since I have a total of 5 - I am not eligible for such a program.

I was denied Global Entry access this summer btw, I do have TSA Precheck though. I was told by the CBP agent that I can't have more than 2 misdemeanors in a 10 year period - and I was about 3-4 months away from that 10 year milestone. He informed me to just reapply this fall/winter when the misdemeanors are > 10 years old.

The district judge that issued the ruling has since retired after 30 years on the bench (I think he retired in 2012). He in fact held the tiny Ken Onion Chive knife in the courtroom and heard the defense (my crappy small town lawyer) say that the knife has no spring and doesn't fall under the state statute and the definition of what a switchblade is, but the judge opened it a few times in court and recognized how fast the "speed assist" or whatever it is called works. And I am like - that is just a fulcrum, not a switchblade. And he did not agree with me.

I was quite ticked off at the time, I knew that having a switchblade possession charge on my record would be the worst offense yet - and it could look like I seriously was involved in crime or something worse than just drinking underage.

I contacted Kershaw, and even before the court case I brought with me names of local establishments they could go to that sell these knives over the counter. And I made sure to remind the judge that the very knife in question now is being sold over the counter at X, Y, and Z locations nearby.

I think the obvious answer is, if I wanted to hire a real law firm and throw money at this - I am sure they could do something. But as of this point, it is not hindering my career. I did not have any international travel this past year, but have declined engagements in Canada.

The state that this happened in is Michigan, and the law applied was the State of Michigan's statute on what a switchblade is, I don't have the MCL handy. I don't carry any knife or anything that could be considered a weapon partly because of this. They bring trouble into your life, and served no benefit for me. If I need to open boxes, I will go inside a drawer at home and find scissors or something