MonarchX

Is it city-specific when it comes down to posting who has been arrested and for what?

Is it possible to request not to be posted?

Also, does your employer have to be notified about you being arrested/ticketed?

Hookahs

It just depends if it's newsworthy. If you live in a large city, a simple possesion charge most likely will not be in the paper. In our city we have a "Police Blotter" and they have 4 or 5 cases, almost never a DUI, unless there were some other circumstances (car wreck with injuries) . If it's in the paper, the drug charge is just a throw in at the end of the story.

Now if you live in a little city, and there is usually no news, it just might get published then. I got arrested in this small ass town, and they had quarter page write up about me.

No, you have no say as to whats get published in the paper.

Your empolyer is not going to find out from the police (simple possesion) . Unless there are some other circumstances ( work related), the only way they are going to find out is if you tell them (court dates) or if it is in the paper, or just plain word of mouth. But your arrest record is matter public referrence and they can easily do a background check and see it.

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troublemaker_42

No, you can't request that your name not be published. OInce you are convicted, its a matter of public record and anyone has access to that info. If the paper wants to print it, they will, and theres not a damn thing you can do about it. What kind of person would WILLINGLY let it be published if they had been arrested? I've recieved 2 DUI's and possession charges in the past. Both in cities of populations of greater than 10,000, and all have been published, some twice. Some made the police blotter section (which posts abouit incidents that have happened recently), and all have made it into the weekly court report (where your name, address, crime, and punishment recieved is published). AS far as your employer being contacted, I'd venture to say in most cases they would not be contacted. However, some employers WILL be notified, espeically if you are working in the government in any degree. If its an issue of public safety, you can be assured the employer will likely be notified. For example, I'm sure it would be brought to the principal's attention if a teacher was convicted or even arrested on drug charges.

Furthermore, a good many companies REQUIRE that YOU report any "adverse contact with law enforcement, aside from minor traffic tickets" This means that if they find out you were arrested, and you didn't tell them, you've violated their employee's code of conduct, and that be be reason for dismissal in many states.

I've been in both situations. I was arrested for marijuana possession while working as a correctional officer, and my bosses were contacted immediately (thopugh the douchebag detective said that hew wasn't going to report it to my superiors, and that he could likely "save my job" if I cooperated). My other possession/DUI arrest was while I was working my current job. I contacted my boss immediately (though not required to at this particular job) and let her know what was up.She was completely cool about it, and gave me the nights I needed off to spend my 5 days of jail I was sentenced to. Would she have been cool about it if she had found out after the fact? Who knows, but that wasn't a chance i was willing to take. In the real world, more often than not, theres a whole lot of truth to honesty being the best policy

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If total government control equals safety, why are prisons so dangerous?

MonarchX

But arrested does not mean convicted.... And from what I know recruiters and hiring managers can't even ask you "Have you ever been arrested or detained?" during an interview.

I had to do ADP and the whole point of it was to clean my record, so if an employer/interviewer ever asks that then I can say NO and they can't find out (I was got ticket, never been arrested, never been in newspaper)

Now the government does have access and can see that I have done ADP so I can't lie to them, but if they can't ask about it and make a decision about hiring you based on arrests then I don't see why I should tell them the truth.

troublemaker_42

Just because they (governemnt) can't ask about it doesn't mean it won't weigh into their decision-making. If they already know about it, and you don't report it, it makes it look as though you are hiding something. I'd rather hire someone convicted of marijuana possession that reports it to me, than find out someone has been arrested, and they deny it., regardless of weather or not they were actually convicted.

Darque Pervert

Sure they can. Why can't they?
Granted, most employers would not, because asking about an arrest without conviction is pretty pointless and on shaky legal ground if that was a basis for a non-hire.
However companies that do intensive background checks will know about any legal actions you're involved in from civil suits (even if they are dropped), arrests, traffic tickets or if you're a witness in a trial. Major accounting firms like E&Y, D&T and others delve that deep into your background.
They'll know if you were questions and released when that bitchin' frat party got raided.

Don't kid yourself. ADP (or whatever) doesn't clean your record.
It will prevent that conviction from counting against you if you get busted again in that state or locality.

Because if you lie on that job application, you are falsifying a record. It is a major deal and you will be fired for it. You may be prosecuted as well. In some states that's a felony, I believe.

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troublemaker_42

I lied on a job application once. The questions referred to past or present drug use, and at that time, I had no record pretaining to drugs. The only time it was ever brought up was as I was being fired for an off-duty marijuana arrest. I was never threatened with criminal sanctions, but they did count it as yet another violation of the employee code of conduct. At that point, my job was toast anyway, so its not like it was going to make any difference whatsoever. COuld I have been charged? No clue, never looked into it that far....at that poiont, getting another job was sort of a priority

dedbr

In my county, all arrests and municipal court procedings are listed on the County Sheriffs website. Kinda hard to hide if it's right there in the open.

The best policy is to answer truthfully if asked and let the chips fall where they may.....


Some Where In Ded Land............

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MonarchX

I was talking about private firms and corporate world. For example, they can't ask what my religion (unless maybe the job is related to religion) is or use it against me if I leave the application form blank. Same goes for country of citizenship. You lawfully can say "Religion is not a factor for my work performance and abilities" if they ask you that.

It also sucks for them to ask that question because if they do not hire you afterwards, you can write a letter to a higher up hiring manager and explain that you were asked that question and it is a possibility that you were not hired due to not answering to that question. The interviewer/recruiter can be fired for that and I have seen that happen.

I believe the same goes for misdemeanors. You do not have to report them during an interview or application. You do have to report felonies.

But I've never been asked any of those questions when it came down to an interview. I am sure they just investigate that matter on their own.

BTW, ADP doesn't prevent you from being convicted again.. I never went to court, never been convicted, but I will be if it happens again. The charge was dropped. I had a stupid friend who did ADP and then mistakenly went to court and got convicted...

I can see the government having access to your charges that were dropped and even you being detained, but isn't there a restricted access for anyone outside of that?

Back to newspaper question, I think if you get a lawyer who with connections you might get lucky and not get newspapered. Lawyers do odd things... one of my friend had a MJ possession charge and his lawyer kept postponing the trial for 3 years and by that time the police officer who caught my friend was no longer working there and the charge was dropped.

phuzz01

Both arrests AND convictions are public records. If a newspaper requests arrest logs from the police department under the FOIA, the police department has to give them unless there is a court order sealing them. And if a newspaper requests conviction information from the court, the court has to give that info. unless again the judge has sealed it. Judges can only seal public records for good cause, and usually only for a set time period. If a police department or court refuses to release public records, they can be sued.