Legal Question in Criminal Law in Georgia

Georgia First Time Offender

I recently applied for a job in which the application questions was:

4. For any offense, other than a minor traffic violation, have you: a. Been convicted? b. Pled no contest? c. Received deferred adjudication? d. Been given probation in lieu of sentencing?

I answere ''no'' as I thought I had understood from my lawyer that completing this would result in a non-conviction and the criminal record would only be available to law enforcement officials. Upon doing so, I was terminated as a background check surfaced the discharge and my employer indicated I had falsified my application. Now, I do not know how to answer and am very upset as the only reason I accepted this plea was because I understood this would not show on any checks and I would not have to list. What is the correct answer to a question such as this and is this information going to be readily available to anyone?


Asked on 10/31/07, 6:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
TC Langford Langford Law Office

Re: Georgia First Time Offender

I am responding to your question as it appears that you have not had a response.

I do not know Georgia law, but am responding regarding TX law.

Depending upon the employer, the questions may not be legal ones. Secondly, if you got deferred, then you would have been obligated (if the question was legal) to answer yes to the deferred disposition question. In Texas some cases can be expunged which can legally allow you disregard the existence of a conviction. Other cases can be sealed, so that employers (except for 23 agencies) cannot access the records. Consult with a Georgia atty to see if such a process (non-disclosure) exists in Georgia. Good luck.

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Answered on 11/06/07, 6:28 am


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