FAQ – Criminal Record Searches

Convictions for:
• Felony: A serious offense carrying a possible penalty of incarceration from one year to life in a state prison, to the death penalty.
• Indictable: Term used in NJ (penalties similar to a felony charge)
• Misdemeanor: Crime punishable by a fine and/or county jail time for up to one
year; not a felony.
Also:
• Pending cases: Felony, Indictable, or misdemeanor charges that are still pending at
the court.

Dismissed cases/charges
– Sealed/Expunged cases
– Juvenile Records (tried in Juvenile court)
• Juveniles tried in Adult court records will appear.
– Charge levels below Misdemeanor
• Infractions/Violations/Minor Misdemeanors/Traffic Violations/Summary Offences, etc.

NO. A common misconception is that there is a single search that can tell you if an individual has ever had any legal trouble.
• The US court system is fractured and not uniform. While there are commonalities,
each jurisdiction is, unique especially when it comes to accessing records.

A National Criminal search is available:
A National Criminal Record search is NOT a court search
• It is a search of a database that compiles millions of criminal records into a single
source.
• A National Criminal search does NOT have information from every court in the
country.
• The search is an effective way to augment the public record searches completed as
part of a background report as its not reasonable to conduct a court search in every
court in the country.
• All “hits” from a National Criminal Record search are confirmed with the court of
record to ensure the information is accurate and up-to-date.

–Aka Adjudication Withheld, deferred judgement, diversion

–Deferred adjudication means the court is withholding a finding in the case. The defendant is given guidelines to follow for a certain amount of time. If the obligations are met, the case is dismissed.  If the defendant does not meet the obligations the court may find the defendant guilty and impose sentencing.

If you’re not sure what a charge means, don’t be afraid to ask! Below are some common charges you may see.

–Importuning = solicitation of a minor

–Larceny = Theft

–Petit Theft = Minor theft

–Uttering = forgery/fraud/bad checks

NO. There could be several reasons why additional information may be needed.  Furthermore, you should not base your employment decision on speculation, only what appears in the report.

• Initial hit could be a person with the same or similar name and there are limited identifiers available on the initial search.
• Turns out case on the index is a civil or traffic case.

An applicant may claim a criminal record or you may find reference to a criminal proceeding on the internet that is not returned in a report for several reasons:
• The crime may have occurred in a area not covered by the background
report. Searches are generally based on where an applicant has resided;
however, there’s always the possibility a person was convicted outside of
their county of residence.
– This is why a National Criminal Record search is a good way to bolster the
searches in a background report.
– The case may have been sealed/dismissed or is a charge less than a misdemeanor
• In an effort to be forthright and honest, occasionally applicant’s will claim
a criminal record they no longer need to disclose such as a case that was
dismissed.
– The case may have been dismissed after an initial conviction. Many states have programs where individuals can have cases dismissed or expunged after a conviction. The case may be gone from the court records, but news articles or information on sites that post criminal record information may linger.