Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

One unsolvable problem today is that with the wealth of information on the internet, people can find records that are not available officially. Once someone puts something online, hiding it in the official records becomes somewhat meaningless.

Note that if you successfully complete First Offender probation, for most eventualities, you do not have a conviction on your record. But the arrest IS on your record.

Even where people get arrests expunged, some people see that. An expungment does not remove the arrest record; it conceals it from employers and some schools of higher education. Anyone within the law enforcement community can see it, school boards can see it and employers that deal with large sums of money or finance, and some areas of health care.

A criminal attorney would need to review your case to see if you can do more to hide things. But be aware some people still will see it.

The record will not be sealed. Not now, not in teh past or in the future. Whoever told you the record would be sealed lied to you. See website on expungement: www.lawrencelewispc.com A successful first offender plea means that you can honestly tell people that you have never been convicted of a felony. The arrest will show, and the disposition of first offender will show on your criminal history. Which makes sense if you think about it. If 1st offender would seal a record, how would law enforcement know if you have gotten 1st offender five times. The case was lost when you entered the plea, which is a perfect way to say "the lawyer you retain counts". Good luck with job search.