Do you have to disclose a sealed reckless driving case on a job application? ~ “Best Answer” on AVVO.com ~ Call Michael A. Haber, Esq. @ 1-888-SHARK-8-1

Thank you, its clear i didn’t go to law school. I thought you could seal a record meaning it won’t be viewed by the public and expunge it which means those agencies would have to erase it. So in that case the record was expunged, and the question on the app is as follows: Have you ever had any arrest record sealed or expunged in which you were convicted, found guilty, had adjudication withheld, entered a pretrial diversion program, or pled guilty or nolo contender (no contest) to a criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation (DUI is not a minor traffic violation.) If yes, explain, giving dates:

The application is vague as to what constitutes a “minor traffic violation”, leaving wiggle room, but I suspect that as reckless driving is not a “minor traffic violation” (it is in fact a misdemeanor crime) then it would not be considered minor and you would have to disclose.

The way I read it the question seems to turn on whether you had it sealed or expunged. If it was sealed then you received a withhold; if it was expunged then your case was dismissed. Thus, if you received a withhold then the question requires a “yes” answer; and if your case was dismissed then we must ascertain why.

The question requires you to admit to an expunged case only if you entered PTD (pretrial diversion, which is also called PTI or pretrial intervention) but not for any other stated reason. Thus, if you have an expunged reckless and your dismissal did not come as a result of PTI then you can answer “no”. However, if it was a “wet reckless” (i.e. a breakdown from a DUI) then you likely received a withhold and will have to answer “yes”, but this is now sheer speculation and you need to know, not guess.

Again, I default to my original answer: “That said, I suspect that it doesn’t much matter where you were arrested, what you were arrested for, what the final disposition was or whether or not you sealed / expunged the record. This is 2015 and we are forehead deep into the internet age, where nothing is private, sacred or truly hidden from public scrutiny.

Sadly, sealing (and expunging) only applies to certain (not even to all) government agencies and has no effect whatsoever on private (er, extortionist) enterprise, who compile and maintain arrest information and then demand that you pay them off to remove your information from their database and public access. Worse still, after you “buy back your information”, then you can count on there being another private company lurking, somewhere, sometime, somehow, just waiting for you to pay them off as well. Its a seemingly never-ending vicious cycle.

For better or for worse you are probably best advised to take the wind out of the sails by admitting your past issues / indiscretions to your present (or potential) employer, lender, landlord, licensing authority, admissions committee, etcetera, rather than waiting for them to find out on their own, but that’s a personal, not a legal, decision.”

Btw – Don’t sell yourself short; you have a fine understanding of the law. And thank you for the props. I greatly appreciate the feedback.

Thank you and i did enter a pretrail diversion program it was not a wet reclkess i had no substance or anything like that. Since i entered the pti it was nolle prosqui which mean it was dismissed and i did get it expunged.

With that said, per the language in the question, “Have you ever had any arrest record sealed or expunged in which you… entered a pretrial diversion program… to a criminal offense other than a minor traffic violation (DUI is not a minor traffic violation.) If yes, explain, giving dates” you must both answer “yes” and offer an explanation.