In 2004 I was arrested and sentenced to probation under the first offenders act and from my understanding I should not have a convicton on my record. What should I do?

What should you do about what?

Go to your nearest police station and have them do a background check on you. If nothing comes up, well then you have nothing to worry about and it will only have cost you about $25.

However, expungement will cost you a lot more for the search, etc. because you don't know for sure and neither do they. So why waste the money that way.

The police check, if turned up that you do have a conviction, doesn't put you under the microscope, it is just information that you would need to say, find a job, and that is the reason you will give.

Practical, right ?

Tick

What should be my next steps seeing as though a convicten is showing on my record when I was advised that it would not since I plead first offenders.

Gemini please don't use the comments feature, it limits our responses to a complete thread allowing us all to give you authoritative answers.

This last comment of yours is, in my opinion, not exactly what your question was about. So can you please give us accurate information regarding what you want to know.

If a conviction is showing on your record from 2004, and you want it expunged, then find someone to do if for you.

Just what were you supposedly convicted of, you haven't stated that and that makes a big different to the answers you will get.

Tick

FrChuck is the expert - I'm sure he'll be along here soon. That is not how I'm reading the Georgia Law.

"If the terms of the first offender sentence are successfully completed, and the probationer discharged, those charges would be sealed on the GCIC database when the discharge is applied to the GCIC criminal history; however, such information may be available through other sources, including court docket books, criminal justice agency websites, or through “third party” vendors. GCIC must receive official notification that the subject has successfully completed the FOA requirements. The record is not automatically sealed based on the passage of the probation sentence."

The record is sealed to some eyes but not to all. If you want your record expunged, you need to hire an Attorney and file for expungement.

georgia.gov - Obtaining Criminal History Record Information (http://www.georgia.gov/00/channel_modifieddate/0,2096,67862954_67866875,00.html)

There are several "first offender" program in Georgia, the most common is where they suspend the sentence, you do probation, pay fines and then the charges are actually dismissed, and never show up as convicted.

The other will be where you are convicted, but they go back and remove the conviction.

If you had one of these programs in writing, as part of the sentence, and it did not happen, you return to the court where you were sentenced and motion the court to comply with the terms of the sentence.

But there are other issues, first an explungment or first offender program will show up for national security searches and the police will always see it. So who it is showing up for ?

The second most major issue is that the first offender and explungement only applies to the NCIC *GCIC in Georgia* there are dozens if not 100s of private search companies, that buy and sell information on people, if your record got into the public information system, before it was sealed, then it is there forever , since private information firms are not bound by the terms of an explungement.

A little more info will help

What was the crime, ( esp felony or misdemeanor)
What court, city, state court ?
What was the exact terms of the agreement