[rlrl2010]

This question is intended more for Fr Check since I know he is in Ga but anyone can respond to this

I was considering moving from NY to Ga and applying for a Social Worker license in Ga, same license I hold here in NY.

In 1996 I was charged with a class B misdemeanor here in NY but I pled guilty to a violation(disorderly conduct) which is considered a non criminal offense in NY and less than a misdemeanor. Because the conviction was only for a violation and not a misdemeanor or felony, no action was taken against my license in NY, which I have held since 1990

NY is more liberal than Georgia when it comes to criminal history questions. NY only asks about convictions for CRIMES which are misdemeanors and felonies and they do not generally ask about convictions for violations and they do not ask about arrests at all

However the criminal history question for the license in Ga asks if you've ever been arrested for any misdemeanor or felony or crime of moral turpitude and entered a guilty plea. To this question I would have to answer yes

After you answer yes you then have to send them a certified copy of the court disposition.

On my disposition it says in big block letters that my case is sealed under section 160.55 of the NY criminal procedure law but it lists the charges and sentence. I was sentenced to a year's Conditional Discharge and paid a $50 fine

What I want to know is how seriously will the Ga board take this kind of record. I know disorderly conduct is graded more seriously in Ga(misdemeanor) than it is in NY(violation). Will the sealing and conditional discharge make the record look less serious? They probably won't consider disorderly conduct to be moral turpitude but I wonder what Ga will think since it's the bible belt and perhaps more stringent than NY

Would, for example they try to get info about the original charge from the court file (they probably could since they have the docket #) do you think?

Just trying to get an idea about how Ga would view this

Thanks for reading

[Fr_Chuck]

While I have no experience with this specific board and their licensing. I can tell you that the courts don't take a disorderly conduct as seriously. It is given to a group of college students that party too loud, or that cause minor issues.

Normally the boards that I am used to will look at the specific offensive as to the details of what actually happeed