Legal Question in Criminal Law in Maryland

Discrimination

This question concerns being arrested and having that arrest used as a reason to determine whether a background investigation is favorable or unfavorable based on that arrest. For instance, I applied for a security guard certification license from the State of Maryland. 4 arrest over 31 years were cited as patially the reason for the denial. The charges were either dismissed or STET. For example, I was arrested after being stopped for a traffic violation in Georgia. The warrant was for passing bad checks. After the arrest and the initial investigation, it was determined that this was an identity theft and I was a victim also. My identification was stolen and used to cash stolen checks. The arrest was on a federal background report and cited as unfavorable by the investigator.

Please tell me what the case law says about using unsubtantiated arrest as a bases to conclude someones background should received an unfavorable or favorable rating. I plan to appeal the State of Maryland decision because I believe it's discrimination by a government agency. Thank You.


Asked on 4/02/08, 11:23 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Kruger Law Offices of James David Kruger, LLC.

Re: Discrimination

In a matter like this, administrative law applies. Generally speaking, a court will not disturb an administrative agency's decision on a matter unless that decision is arbitrary and capricious. This may be difficult to show. Regardless of this result, I would suggest that you follow petition to get your dismissals and Stets expunge from your record. This will bring your arrests out of the public eye and prevent most, not all, employers from asking any details of the expunged record. I hope this was helpful.

Note *** - This response is intended for general information purposes only and not as legal advice and does not constitute an attorney client relationship with the sender. Since each person's situation is different, it would be impossible and unethical to give legal advice without a full conference as an attorney/client relationship would require, obtaining in-depth facts particular to that case.

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Answered on 4/02/08, 1:15 pm


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