<p>I was charged with "receiving stolen property" when my friend gave me a 10 dollar hood ornament that he peeled off a vehicle. I was only 15 years old and most of the other neighborhood kids also knew about this. I discussed this with my parents and we went to the police station to file a report. They made me do a statement, and everything seemed done from there. Later, a cop called my house and notified me that the law and order office wanted to give me community service hours for (Despite my honesty and integrity) receiving it in the first place. Its been 3 years, and I want to get a job with the federal government, and there's no way I'm going to tell them about this. I feel wrongfully treated, and I'm so ****ed off...now that I'm rising to my senior year. I just discovered a process called "expungement" which I never heard of before. I want to file for one, and already made an appointment.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me if I am eligible for this? </p>
<p>To all those that want to know..</p>
<p>I have no Criminal record, I was never tried, nor was I arrested</p>
<p>I am the mayor of my community (which is almost the WHOLE base since I live on a military base overseas), and have a great support network. </p>
<p>I want to apply for a security clearance also, but I heard they can go trhough your juvenile records... What is the difference between expungement and a sealed juvenile record? Please help!</p>
<p>Mr. S., you really need qualified legal assistance with this. Asking the 'opinion' of parents on this board is the wrong approach.</p>
<p>Go to your legal rep. on base, you are 18, pay the cost yourself. It's better if you don't ask your parents to pick up the lawyer bill.
[quote]
Its been 3 years, and I want to get a job with the federal government, and there's no way I'm going to tell them about this. I feel wrongfully treated, and I'm so ****ed off...now that I'm rising to my senior year.
[/quote]
3 years, that's a pretty long time to be cheesed off. </p>
<p>Never keep anything off your security clearance form for any job requiring a clearance (sort of puts the lie to your comment about your 'honesty and integrity'). If they want to reach into your juvenile record, they will, and they will find it. It's better to just say 'I did this boneheaded thing when I was 15' and be completely upfront about it. But don't take my word for it, ask your lawyer.</p>
<p>Don't assume that being 'mayor of your community' will offer you any sort of legal leverage. You're an adult now, and you can deal with mistakes and move on with the proper information. And you know what -- the whole thing may be a non-issue.</p>
<p>I think we're not on the same sheet of music here. I am not 18 yet, and my JAG officer is actually free from my understanding at legal services. I was actually asking you guys about expungements and sealed juvenile records. </p>
<p>"I just discovered a process called "expungement" which I never heard of before. I want to file for one, and already made an appointment.</p>
<p>Can anyone tell me if I am eligible for this?</p>
<p>To all those that want to know..</p>
<p>I have no Criminal record, I was never tried, nor was I arrested"</p>
<hr>
<p>If you expunge or seal your juvenile record, the Feds can't see your record unless they go to court right? How do they manage to find your juvenile record anyways? I live overseas. I know they shred records here every 3 years, but I do know that they mail a copy of the file to some anonymous location in the states. Is it computerized? </p>
<hr>
<p>Now...! The question was about expungements and sealed files.</p>
<p>When you get a record expunged in the U.S. legal services claim the following:</p>
<ol>
<li> When your child's records are sealed, the records of arrest, detention, prosecution and conviction are physically sealed off and/or destroyed.</li>
<li>You are authorized by law to say you have never been convicted.</li>
<li>You can start adulthood on a "clean" state.</li>
<li>You can help prevent losing a good job because of a prior juvenile matter.</li>
</ol>
<p>If the file was destroyed, how can the Feds and the military do security clearances and manage to detect this?</p>
<p>Mister Sinister, no one on these boards can answer whether you are "eligible" for expungement or even what that means in terms of your security clearances. You need to contact a lawyer, and if that's a JAG officer, fine. Talk to him/her, not anonymous people on an internet chat board. </p>
<p>You are also making huge assumptions about what expungement means or whether juvenile records are destroyed. "Sealed" and "destroyed" are not the same thing. Sealed records are just that - they are hidden from the public. But they still exist (at least usually). But it also does not mean that the fact that there is a juvenile record is necessarily beyond the reach of the federal government, particularly in these post-9/11 days.</p>
<p>A number of things are at work here. First, you say "despite your honesty and integrity". To put it more accurately, you might have said "your eventual honesty and integrity." You were quite willing to knowingly accept stolen property initially.
Secondly, you are seeking the opinions on a website primarily intended for parents who have or who will soon have college age children, and issues related to that. Hmmmmm, does that seem like the best place to get legal advice? Why not ask your dentist, or your mechanic? Anhudmom is right. See an attorney for legal advice.
Lastly, how can anyone know about records sealed, or expunged? Are you kidding? Are you pretending to be naive? It's against the law to reveal info about sealed records, yet it happens. It's against the law to drive 65 in a 40 m.p.h. zone, yet it happens. It is against the law to steal property, yet it happens. Rsp is also against the law, yet it happens. You're asking how someone might pass on info even though they are not supposed to? We all break certain rules at some times. Some are rules of ettiquette, some moral, some involving work, some more serious than others, some criminal, sometimes we get caught, sometimes not. that's life.
See an attorney for legal advice</p>
<p>I'm not stealing any opinions. I'm trying to apply to an academy. And what do you mean my "eventual honest"? I put a noose around my neck and hung myself, and I got slam dunked for it. Surely, that is a wrong example imposed on a 15 year old youth at the time. But thanks for your advice. I will get legal advice.</p>
<p>The first thing you need to do is read the question pertaining to Police Records on the U.S. Government security clearance application form (known as the Standard Form 86--Questionnaire for National Security Positions). A copy of the form is available at <a href="http://lastpostpublishing.com/resources.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://lastpostpublishing.com/resources.aspx</a> along with some helpful information for people interested in security clearances. You will see that the form does not permit you to omit arrests, charges, or convictions that occurred within the past seven years (question #23f), even if the case was "sealed" or otherwise stricken from court records.</p>
<p>Sealing and expunging only apply to court records. Does a court record exist? Go to the court and find out. Another problem is that even if the court record is sealed or expunged, secondary records exist at other criminal justice agencies and those records may be unaffected by a court expungement order.</p>
<p>Thirdly, a charge of receiving stolen property with a value of only $10 when your were 15 years old is not going to have any affect on receiving a security clearance, provided there were no complicating circumstances or other unfavorable information in your background.</p>
<p>I'm a retired federal security clearance investigator with 30 years of experience in these matters.</p>