first time offender

[Daniel_Chamberl]

I was charged and sentence to probation for a first time offender for a 1st degree forgery which is a felony. My probation will be up in Oct of this year. I am 35 years old living in Georgia. When I pulled up my criminal record, It states I was charged for forgery but not convicted.

My first question is what rights will I have after my probation is up and can I have my criminal record sealed so when I apply for a job other than a law enforcement position the employer will not see my criminal record.

What can I do to have this "forgery charge" to say It was dismissed since I was never convicted of a felony.

On a job application, It asks "have you ever been convicted of a felony" ? I believe I can answer no but when the employer do a criminal background check they will see the forgery charge and have to put in an explanation which I know I probably will not get the job.

What are some options ??

Thank you
Daniel

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I believe that you may wish to get your offense expunged, if possible.

I do not believe you should lie if asked about an offense, since this can be verified easily and may put you in a worse situation than before. If it is a government application of any kind, e.g. job, permit, I would not lie about it since it could be a federal offense to provide misinformation. Perhaps someone else here with experience in this area will post something shortly.

Originally posted by Daniel Chamberl:
I was charged and sentence to probation for a first time offender for a 1st degree forgery which is a felony. My probation will be up in Oct of this year. I am 35 years old living in Georgia. When I pulled up my criminal record, It states I was charged for forgery but not convicted.

My first question is what rights will I have after my probation is up and can I have my criminal record sealed so when I apply for a job other than a law enforcement position the employer will not see my criminal record.

What can I do to have this "forgery charge" to say It was dismissed since I was never convicted of a felony.

On a job application, It asks "have you ever been convicted of a felony" ? I believe I can answer no but when the employer do a criminal background check they will see the forgery charge and have to put in an explanation which I know I probably will not get the job.

What are some options ??

Thank you
Daniel