Hello and good evening. I have a professional license to do what I do. I have had it since 1990. In 1996 I was charged with a class B misdemeanor in NY but pled guilty to a 'violation", a non-criminal offense. I paid a $50 fine, received a conditional discharge and in a year my criminal records(prints sealed in NY and FBI, DA records, police records) were sealed. However since i was convicted the court record was not sealed.

The day after the case was finished I contacted the licensing bureau to report my conviction (at the time i thought I was convicted of a crime) and I was told by the department that my conviction was for a violation, which did not constitute a crime in the state of NY, and therefore I did not have to report the conviction, since the office only took disciplinary action against licensees who were convicted of misdemeanors and felonies.

So my license has been in good standing

I have been thinking of relocating to Ga. soon however and transferring my license credentials, which should be no problem as far as education goes. However, unlike NY, Ga. is a state where they can ask about arrests, not just convictions. NY previously worded licensure questions that sounded like they were asking about arrests but they have ceased doing that and they now only ask about convictions for misdemeanors or felonies).

In Ga. they ask 2 questions about criminal history.
1) Have you ever been convicted of any criminal offense?
2) Have you ever been arrested, charged, sentenced, pled nolo contendere for committing any felony or misdemeanor of moral turpitude?

The charge i was arrested for in NY was a class B misdemeanor with a potential jail sentence of up to 90 days; the charge I pled down to in NY was a violation(a non-'fingerprintable offense) that carried a potential jail sentence of up to 15 days

Last time I checked, the equivalent of the original NY B misd charge in Ga was an A misd with a potential jail sentence of 180 days; the equivalent of the NY violation charge in ga had a potential jail sentence of 30 days and may have been a class C misd(wasn't clearly noted). I read that when there is a difference between states' laws, they use the jail sentence as a guideline

I contacted the clerk at the licensing board in ga and explained the situation. She said I might be able to say "no" to question #1 but not #2, but she did tell me that it would not be she who would be reviewing my application, and that I would need to submit an official court record of the event.

I realize that I have a record of having been arrested for a crime and being convicted of an offense.

However, is it possible that the fact that the conviction was only a violation in NY and did not affect my NY license would work in my favor? When Ga contacts NY licensing bureau they will find out that my license has always been in good standing

At the bottom of my court disposition, which lists the charges, it is noted to be sealed by a judge. Although the disposition is not sealed, the case was partially sealed (prints, DA records, police records). Is it possible Ga will notice the sealed nature of the record and realize that this was not that serious?

Look forward to anything you can advise me

Thanks in advance

RLRL

Hello RL:

You're avoiding the elephant in the room. What these licensing agencies want to know is if you're honest. That's what moral turpitude is. IF you were charged with stealing, that IS a crime of moral turpitude.

GA has the right to make its own determination. IF you were convicted of (or charged with) a crime of moral turpitude, you'll need a lawyer to convince them, and even that might not do it.

Can you apply in GA, while not giving up your NY license? I would do that if I could.

excon

Of course it will help to know what license this is, insurance, medical doctor, attorney, real estate, each board have their own guidelines, for example, while any felony expludes you from a real estate license, they do make acceptions, but will also deny for some misdemeanors that involke thefts or issues of trust.

And the thing I have figured out along time ago, is that you will never know anything for sure from any of the boards, till you apply.

The license is for a social worker (LMSW) which I have been since 1990 in NY. The disposition charge in NY was a non-criminal violation of disorderly conduct. Not a conviction of moral turpitude, not even a misd, at least in NY

I think what really is going to hurt is that Ga asks about arrests, whereas in NY, the idea of arrests is treated much more with kid gloves. The NY state DCJS seals disorderly conduct violations so when the NY licensing agency checks for criminal history it will come back as "no criminal record"

Yes the background check in GA would show arrests as well as convictions, so when they run your background it is going to show up anyway.

I think it will fly, but you will have to be honest about it. But until you send the paperwork through, you will just never know for sure.

Will the fact that NY state sent a sealing order to the FBI prevent the record from being seen, or does law enforcement do the check ( I remember you mentioned that law enforcement checks are not sealed but non-law enforcement checks are sealed from employers/licensing agencies)

If NY state sent a sealing order to the FBI telling them to expunge their files of thie arrest event, wouldn't this be sealed to employers and licensing agencies (except to immigration, law enforcement)?

Unless Ga licensing went to the Office of Court Administration(there the record is not sealed because of the conviction) in NY which includes public records of all criminal court convictions and paid them $52 to run the search(that's the fee), they shouldn't be able to find out since it has been sealed at NY DCJS and the FBI

Even if the FBI file was expunged, the ga license agency can still find out from the FBI?

Hello rl:

I understand how trying to find out how some board will rule on an issue would be a logical first step in the process. However, having been before boards in the past, I suggest the only way to tell how they're going to rule, is apply and let 'em rule.

I don't think you have a great deal to worry about. In fact, the law notwithstanding, I suggest full disclosure. Then all this stuff about whether they can find out or not is moot. As I suggested earlier, your problem wasn't related to your honesty. That's really their concern.

excon

Thanks. I never would lie about the record. It's just that this is the first time ever that I would have to reveal this matter (it didn't affect my ability to rent another apartment; because of my licensed status on my job I was exempt from having a background done on me and even if a check was done nothing would have shown up anyway) so I have no experience in having to tell anyone about this. I'm in a state that does not ask about arrests. Moving to a state that asks about arrests is just tougher. Thanks for the support though

Father Chuck, I haven't heard from you-- what do you think? If NY sent the FBI an expungement order and Ga licensing checks my record with the FBI and GCIC(Ga crime info center) which may contain "multi state offender" notation, would my record show up, or would it only be if law enforcement checked it? Can law enforcement reveal the expunged record to Ga licensing? I didn't see anything on the application about fingerprinting

Ex con--I know what you are saying, that my guessing if the record will show or not is a moot point. However, if my record was not found in the FBI/GCIC files wouldn't that make them think of me in a better light, with respect to licensing?