Originally Posted by
BR34
Both of you are wrong. Maybe it's a case by case, state law by state law basis but I can tell you with 100% certainty that an expunged record is vanished from a persons' record.
I was convicted of a felony in 2000. Did 2 years probation, paid fines, etc. I finished probation and filed a motion with the DA to have the case dismissed. The DA and judge agreed. I then had my arrest record expunged.
A few years later I went to the RS to sign up and told them my whole history. They did a bunch of different bg checks on me and couldn't find ANYTHING. So I was left in a situation where I needed to get a waiver but there was no paperwork available supporting anything I was telling them. Luckily for me my probation officer still had a copy of the court minutes and I was able to use that for my waiver paperwork.
I've also legally purchased probably 10 firearms since then. No wait time, no holds, just paperwork, money, and walking out the door with a gun.
And to top it off, I've been fingerprinted and had my mug taken for a back ground check I had to have to get my Conceal Carry Weapons permit. 5 weeks later my permit was in hand.
My record is completely clean, not even a speeding ticket. In LA records ARE destroyed once expunged. It's actually written into LA's law that the records (fingerprints, court docs, arrest reports, mug shots) will be destroyed and all that shall remain is a paper saying "Person X has been expunged" with no explanation of what they were charged with or what used to be on their record.
So it may vary from state to state, but I can tell you for a fact Louisiana destroys the record. (except for lazy prob officers who don't get the memo)