Legal Question in Criminal Law in New York

Dismissal of a Misdemeanor

I was arrested for a Misdemeanor and

received a Summons to appear at

court. It was dismissed at the

window (without going in front of a

judge) as ''legally insufficient,'' (I

obtained a Certificate of Disposition).

If I am arrested again, and the

arresting officers ask (as they did this

time, my first offense) if I have ever

been arrested before, how must I

answer? What if it is something

more vague, like ''Have you ever

been in trouble with the police

before?''


Asked on 5/16/08, 12:19 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Alexander Roytblat Tikhomirov & Roytblat, PLLC

Re: Dismissal of a Misdemeanor

If your case was dismissed for any reason, New York police will receive a negative search result should they request one from Albany regarding any prior arrests. So you can safely state that you had no previous arrests. However, Federal authorities will still nave a record of you prior arrests, but New York City cops do not use that database unless apply for a special permission. It is a very rear occurrence though.

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Answered on 5/16/08, 1:11 pm
Robert Evans Robert S. Evans esq.

Re: Dismissal of a Misdemeanor

You can answer truthfully that you have never been convicted of a crime. Most questions only involve convictions not arrests. There is always that presumption of innocense.Questions involving arrests need not be answered.

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Answered on 5/16/08, 4:23 pm


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