Quoted: Drug possession charge and med school admission

[Doodledog]

Hey,

I posted this in the allopathic forum and was suggested to post it here...any input on this would be much appreciated...

I got arrested last year for possession of CDS and paraphernalia (both on school grounds in NJ). Both charges were first reduced to misdemeanors, and then both charges were completely dismissed. I also had an expungement done to seal the record.

I was just wondering how bad this would hurt my chances of getting accepted into a medical school...

I was also wondering if anyone else has gone through a similar experience and got accepted into medical school...

Thanks

It will be very hard for anyone on SDN to answer this without knowing much more about the incident and you. In general, although dismissed, this is a serious charge and will be a major red flag. However, it IS possible to get admitted despite this incident. You will need to be prepared to discuss what happened and to take responsibility for any aspect of it for which you should take responsibility.

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[Octagonecology]

It will be very hard for anyone on SDN to answer this without knowing much more about the incident and you. In general, although dismissed, this is a serious charge and will be a major red flag. However, it IS possible to get admitted despite this incident. You will need to be prepared to discuss what happened and to take responsibility for any aspect of it for which you should take responsibility.

Sorry, the above information is completely 100% false. If you record was expunged there either is no record as it has been destroyed, or it will never accessible by anyone. You are also legally entitled to deny the arrest even occurred and noone could prove you different...

Please be wary of advice given on SDN as most of it is simply negative and erroneous.

 

[Doodledog]

Sorry, the above information is completely 100% false. If you record was expunged there either is no record as it has been destroyed, or it will never accessible by anyone. You are also legally entitled to deny the arrest even occurred and noone could prove you different...

Please be wary of advice given on SDN as most of it is simply negative and erroneous.

I have no idea and made no comment about the issue of accessibility to the information by the admission's committee. In every case in which I answer this type of question, my answer relates to the question as to how an adcom member would see the event if it was disclosed. If the OP doesn't plan to disclose it, whether they must/should or not, then why ask the question here?

All questions about the need to disclose events should be discussed with legal counsel and AMCAS, etc. I would not take legal advice from anyone on SDN, even those who are lawyers.

Further follow up on any legal issues elsewhere. Further answers to questions specific to how this event, if disclosed, would be regarded, are welcome.

 

[Arch Guillotti]

Sorry, the above information is completely 100% false. If you record was expunged there either is no record as it has been destroyed, or it will never accessible by anyone. You are also legally entitled to deny the arrest even occurred and noone could prove you different...

lol

A couple of quotes taken directly from some random law website:

"You should be aware that the federal government need not honor the expungement, nor does an expungement of a conviction necessarily relieve a person from having to disclose it in an application for public office or on some professional license applications."

"Expungement is often equated to the sealing or destroying of legal records. Each state offers its own definition of expungement, based on different rules and laws. Generally, expungement can be viewed as the process to "remove from general review" the records pertaining to a case. But the records may not completely "disappear" and may still be available to law enforcement."

Not sure how it would affect getting accepted to medical school but licensure could be a different matter, though typically they are more concerned w/felonies, violent crimes etc.

Consult a lawyer.

 

[Doodledog]

I posted Arch's note, and it is more consistent with what I understand. Regardless, please move the fascinating discussion of what the legal definition of "expunge" is to somewhere else and we'll get back to what the effect of these things are on those who apply ASSUMING they disclose it.

 

[andreano]

The fact is, every state has very different expungement laws. I know Illinois laws so it may not be helpful here. I do know the following: The Dept of Justice (FBI) has a general policy of adhering to and following an expungement order from the state that issues an expungement order (that polcy is in their regulations) However, the DOJ does what it wants so there it is not a given that a state expungement will hit and erase the record of an arrest on an FBI file. The only way to make sure is to request a copy of your FBI file to see if the arrest/conviction is on record.

Also, I am an attorney in Illinois having handled many expungements and my advice ALWAYS the same. 1) clear every record of an arrest wherever you can under the law of your state even if the charges were dismissed BUT 2) answer every question of a professional licensing body truthfully - you are more likely to get denied a license for untruthful statements on the application than if you revealed it and provided an explanation. That being said, some states such as Illinois provide that it is a civil rights violation for an EMPLOYER to ask whether someone has applied for a expungement. But a licensing body? That may be different. And again, be truthful. If you have something in your past so horrible that you are so worried about, maybe you should have thought about that before getting the training for that professional license. I know I don't want the pharmacist filling out my kid's prescription to have a conviction on his or her record for producing meth in their past