Legal Question in Criminal Law in Pennsylvania

Re: Repealed statute, background checks

I completely agree with the answer given to you by Atty. Sughrue. An employment application for a private employer can only ask for convictions of misdemeanors and felonies. To ask more is illegal. If it is a federal government job, they will ask about arrests. But, read the question carefully, and only answer what it asks for.

I believe you were probably convicted of a summary, and that's why you coudn't find it on your record--however, it does exist as a record at the Magisterial District Judge level, as indicated in previous answers.

Re: Repealed statute, background checks

I'm not sure of the answer to this. A lot depends on the wording of the employment application. If it asks if you were ever arrested, and the criminal case was initiated by an arrest rather than a citation, I think you'd have to say yes whether the statute was repealed or not. If it asks whether you committed a crime, you may have an argument there since the conduct that led to the plea is no longer a crime.

I suspect that you did your search before the State started putting Summary Offenses up on the State website at UJS Portal and that the offense was a "summary" heard by a Magisterial District Judge and these cases for a period of time were not considered courts of record.

However the web site states:

Docket sheet information should not be used in place of a criminal history background check, which can only be provided by the Pennsylvania State Police. Employers who do not comply with the provisions of the Criminal History Record Information Act (18 Pa.C.S. Section 9101 et seq.) may be subject to civil liability as set forth in 18 Pa.C.S. Section 9183.

There is a specific section at 18 Pa.C.S. section 9104 that indicates that dockets, etc. of the courts and minor judiciary are considered to be public record but not Criminal History Record Information. The statute, though, is so ambiguous that I can only guess at its meaning.

A licensing board is not permitted to base a decision on a summary conviction, though, and the statute indicates that an employer may only base a hiring decision upon convictions of felonies and misdemeanors that have a connection to the job you're being hired for and that the employer must notify you if it is making a hiring decision on the basis of your criminal history.

So I think summaries are out, or at least you are unlikely to know whether an employer has considered one.

As far as the federal records, I think they keep everything.

Re: Repealed statute, background checks

You are correct that 5504 was repealed, but your research did not go far enough. 5504 was repealed as part of a reorganization of the crime of harrassment, which under 5504 also contained stalking. Being in Chapter 55 assocaited harassment with disorderly conduct and other crimes against society generally. Harassment is a crime against an individual and is more similar to simple assault than disorderly conduct. So, our legislature merely repealed 5504 and enacted title 18 section 2709 Harrassment and 2709.1 Stalking.

So the crime for which you were convicted is still a crime. Your question really depends on the grading of your offense as compared to the new statute. Nonetheless, if you were convicted of it (as opposed to being admitted to a pretrial diversionary program like ARD) in the court of common pleas, then you still have a conviction on your record. For non governmental employment concerns, the applications usually ask if you have ever been convicted of a crime punishable by more than 1 year in prison (because that's how the feds and many state define "felony") or a crime more serious than a trafic related offense. Again, your answer depends on the grading of your offense and the facts of your case as applied to the new law.

If your matter was handled at the DJ level, then it was most likely a summary offense for which you faced a maximum penalty of $300 and/or 90 days in jail. So, in most applications you can say "no I have never been convicted of something more serious than a trafic related offense and/or punishable by more than 1 year in jail." For federal government jobs, they will want to know about it. Telling the complete truth is more important than having a summary conviciton on your record. Plus, teh application will ask more specific questions.

Good question, complicated answer...Good luck.