Question about arrests......

[FeeBear]

First I want to state that I have never been arrested . If you get arrested by mistake (eg having the same name as a felon or some kinda of mistaken identity) and later it is proven a mistake, is the arrest vacanted or is it with you forever?

Fee

 

[Chris]

in MA, the record of arrest remains in the system forever. As far as i know, there is no method of removing the data.

I can not speak of other state practices.

 

[Len-2A Training]

I do believe that most civilized states have a system to expunge a wrongful arrest record.

No such thing exists in MA, therefore my only recommendation is if such ever befalls a hapless victim, sue for at least $100 Million for the damages you will encounter over the rest of your life . . . because you WILL be denied job opportunities, perhaps loans, most likely LTCs, etc. based on said arrest . . . forever! It will be a lifetime of costly legal battles to right your name each time you get denied something unjustly!

 

[OnTheRoad]

In MA it will appear upon arraignment. If the charges are dismissed or decriminalized prior to arraignment (for instance, at a show-cause hearing) there will be no "criminal" record in the Board of Probation (BOP) database. If it goes on the record and it's determined to be a case of wrong identity, the charge will show a status of dismissed but remains on the record.

If it's a warrant arrest of law-abiding person "A" who has the same name as wanted criminal "B" there should be no criminal record entry for "A" strictly due to the warrant arrest.

I have to deal with this every time I buy a gun - apparently someone out there has a similar enough name or SS# to me and a criminal history, so I always wind up having to come back a few days later to pick up my purchases when it's determined that I am really a good guy after all.

 

[Coyote33]

I do believe that most civilized states have a system to expunge a wrongful arrest record.

No such thing exists in MA, ...

??

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=242330&postcount=27

....I have to deal with this every time I buy a gun - apparently someone out there has a similar enough name or SS# to me and a criminal history, so I always wind up having to come back a few days later to pick up my purchases when it's determined that I am really a good guy after all.

Ever get a traffic stop? I bet those take a little longer also.



See also:
Question on Public Safety Act of 2006

 

[Chris]

The Arrest records and Conviction records are different databases.

 

[FeeBear]

I do believe that most civilized states have a system to expunge a wrongful arrest record.

No such thing exists in MA, therefore my only recommendation is if such ever befalls a hapless victim, sue for at least $100 Million for the damages you will encounter over the rest of your life . . . because you WILL be denied job opportunities, perhaps loans, most likely LTCs, etc. based on said arrest . . . forever! It will be a lifetime of costly legal battles to right your name each time you get denied something unjustly!

So Len, I am not trying to be dense. So what you are saying is if the Duke Rape case would have happened at Harvard, then the boys would have arrest record even though the cases was dropped? So what you are telling me is that IF they were from Massachusetts not only would their names be ruined but so would their careers? How is this not been challenged in court?
On a side note can you actually sue the state for this or were you beening funny?

Fee

 

[Len-2A Training]

You definitely can sue the town/state/etc.

Those Duke men's lawyers have already mentioned that they have every intention of suing.

Every questionnaire that asks "have you ever been arrested" must be answered "yes". Guess what that does to the minds of HR, hiring managers, issuing chiefs, etc.?

I was NOT being facetious in any way with my statement. Especially in MA where you can't get an expungement and a pardon is irrelevant since there was no conviction.

 

[JonJ]

In MA, their BOP would show the charges they were arraigned on with a "D" indicating that the charges were dismissed.

 

[Len-2A Training]

In MA, their BOP would show the charges they were arraigned on with a "D" indicating that the charges were dismissed.

Which MANY LEOs (and even hiring managers) would interpret as "he got away with another one"!

I was paid to do a record search on a particular individual by visiting about 4-5 different courthouses in SE MA. This guy had probably 10-15 arrests for all sorts of things involving motor vehicles, lack of DL (suspended/revoked), and a mugging (robbery by force, don't recall if it was armed or not). EVERY charge over some 4-5 years was "Dismissed"!! Somehow, reading thru all that stuff I just knew that he was a real "sterling citizen"!! <NOT>

 

[Chris]

The sad fact Len is that most of the most violent of people resemble that profile.

Our courts would grind to a halt if every crime were prosecuted to conviction. Most the plea bargain BS occurs just to keep the place from being overwhelmed.

All the talk about more police and stiffer sentences are all wind out the buttocks because the real failure is in the courts where current laws are not enforced as they should be.

Worse still - The criminals KNOW this better than the average public. They have no fear of getting caught because chances are little will come of it.

 

[chuck9899]

They just had a thing in MA no to long ago to try and correct the CORI system which is the MA system and aparently everything gets recorded and stays in the system for some years even if it was a mistake.

People did a march and protest to try and make the change. i dont know all the details but thats what i did hear.

 

[pipmaster1971]

The sad fact Len is that most of the most violent of people resemble that profile.

Our courts would grind to a halt if every crime were prosecuted to conviction. Most the plea bargain BS occurs just to keep the place from being overwhelmed.

All the talk about more police and stiffer sentences are all wind out the buttocks because the real failure is in the courts where current laws are not enforced as they should be.

Worse still - The criminals KNOW this better than the average public. They have no fear of getting caught because chances are little will come of it.

Agreed 100%...I'm going to put on my "small government, Libertarian" hat on here and say that if the authorities would stop busting and prosecuting people for petty victimless crimes then maybe the courts would be able to better deal with the real scumbags out there.

 

[RKG]

The way to stop "busting and prosecuting" people for "petty victimless crimes" is to repeal the statutes that make the behavior in question criminal. In our system, this requires a vote by the leglislature.

Our Constitution prudently denies the executive (police and prosecutors) and the judiciary (the courts) the power to enact or to repeal statutes. That being the case, a police officer or chief who declares that he or his department will no longer arrest for X, or a prosecutor who declares he will no longer prosecute for X, or a Court that declares it will no longer convict for X, has acted in a grossly unconstitutional manner.