Misdemeanor misfiled as Felony

[n0tikal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Georgia

I am preparing to apply for a nursing licence in the state of Georgia. I ran a background check on myself to obtain the date and case number regarding a misdemeanor possession of marijuana, only to find that it had been filed as a felony. I contacted the court and they confirmed that it had been misfiled and they also could not find the police report. The board of nursing is requiring a disposition to be submitted regarding my case. Instead, I received a typed document from the clerk stating the charge and that all requirements had been satisfied. I was told to call back in a week regarding the change to my record. I called today to only be informed that nothing has been done regarding the correction to my record. My question is, do I have any legal ground to pressure them to change it? I feel like they are not taking it seriously. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

It will likely take a court order to change it. Hire an attorney or file the motion yourself.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Georgia

I am preparing to apply for a nursing licence in the state of Georgia. I ran a background check on myself to obtain the date and case number regarding a misdemeanor possession of marijuana, only to find that it had been filed as a felony. I contacted the court and they confirmed that it had been misfiled and they also could not find the police report. The board of nursing is requiring a disposition to be submitted regarding my case. Instead, I received a typed document from the clerk stating the charge and that all requirements had been satisfied. I was told to call back in a week regarding the change to my record. I called today to only be informed that nothing has been done regarding the correction to my record. My question is, do I have any legal ground to pressure them to change it? I feel like they are not taking it seriously. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The error in the court's database could be based on an error made by the charging agency (the police department that charged you with the misdemeanor). I would go to the police department and have them check their records to see how the offense was entered.

Also, when you ran the background check on yourself, there was information provided to you on how to challenge what was showing on the report. You can submit the final disposition of your case to the background check company and the background check company is required to make corrections.

 

[n0tikal]

The error in the court's database could be based on an error made by the charging agency (the police department that charged you with the misdemeanor). I would go to the police department and have them check their records to see how the offense was entered.

Also, when you ran the background check on yourself, there was information provided to you on how to challenge what was showing on the report. You can submit the final disposition of your case to the background check company and the background check company is required to make corrections.

Thank you very much!

 

[HighwayMan]

...the background check company is required to make corrections.

Except that the background check company has no control over what information is recorded in the state and federal criminal justice databases and will not be able to do anything about getting the problem corrected.

 

[quincy]

Except that the background check company has no control over what information is recorded in the state and federal criminal justice databases and will not be able to do anything about getting the problem corrected.

Right. That is why you must locate the source of the error first.

The first place to look for an error is the law enforcement agency (the arresting/charging agency). If the information was entered incorrectly there, that affects both what appears in the court database and in the federal database and the background check company's database.

If the police information was entered correctly, you look for an error in the court information.

If both the police information and the court information was entered correctly into their databases, then look for the error in the background check company information.

Once correct information is provided to whoever is reporting it incorrectly, those reporting incorrect information must update their databases with the correct information.

Here is information for n0tikal on how to correct mistakes in criminal history records in Georgia, from the Georgia Justice Project:
http://www.gjp.org/programs/criminal-records/faqs/faqs-correcting-a-criminal-record-in-georgia/

And, just because I have it, here is how to correct mistakes in criminal history records in Michigan, from Michigan Legal Help (this includes how to correct your FBI criminal record information):
http://michiganlegalhelp.org/self-help-tools/expungement/fixing-mistakes-your-criminal-record