Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

When I was 17 in the fall of 2010 I was caught shoplifting. When the sheriff arrived I was not arrested. He let me go home with my parents and I was given the chance to choose a "diversion", where I took a one-time class that taught me about the harm of shoplifting. After the class I was told that my shoplifting incident would not show up on my record.

However, now I am applying for a job with the Japanese government and I need to provide an explanation for anything that might be on my record. They explicitly say that because this application is being processed under Japanese law, "American laws exempting individuals from disclosure of records, including but not limited to expunged records or sealed records, do not apply"

Does this mean they will be able to see my shoplifting diversion? Or are diversions not recorded on FBI records? If possible I would prefer NOT to bring this shoplifting incident up with my employers. Any help would be appreciated.


Asked on 11/03/14, 6:06 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stan Glisson Glisson & Morris

It completely depends on how that particular county handles their diversion cases. It is entirely possible that there is not a record of it. I still don't recommend that you lie on a job application, but you certainly could talk to an attorney who practices in that county and ask to get some research done on how diversion is handled. Also, you could talk to the diversion coordinator at that court and ask them how the paperwork would be handled. Finally, you could pay to run a background check on yourself to see if it comes up (it shouldn't).

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Answered on 11/04/14, 9:31 am


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