My DOJ rap sheet had inaccurate entries - form BCIA 8706 was filed

[quincy]

Hmm ... okay, I missed that.

But, I wonder if the court documentation might still be lacking. As I said, the most common issue I have come across is that the record was not updated. And, what documentation was submitted. Actual court records? Or, records printed from the court website? You might be surpised (appalled?) to learn how often there is a serious disconnect in the system.

Those are all possibilities.

Booga has made a call to the DOJ and is expecting a return call. He might learn more about the status of his claim at that time. I suspect the delay is due to backlog but there could be an issue with documentation.

 

[booga]

Hi CdwJava,

The supporting documents I sent include the following.
-Documentation to show arrest record, and the resulting conviction (which differs from the DOJ rapsheet printout.
-Documentation which shows sentencing notes which support incorrect entry
-A letter from my attorney which points out the discrepancy as indicated by the judge during court proceedings when my case was expunged
* It may have also included a printout of court minutes
The court documentation that I submitted contains the needed info to make this change. But it does require some effort to verify.

And yes, there is a serious disconnect in the system to have caused this inaccuracy in my record. My fear is that since my case is almost 30 years old, a lot of the paperwork are no longer available or hard to find.

An update on my search for a phone number.
I was given a phone number which I was told was a direct number to DOJ. The number it turns out is a number to follow up background checks for firearms purchases. Although she did not have access to my case, nor can she share details. She did say that the case did not fall between the cracks, and is in process from what she can see. A useful number just the same, but my priority is elsewhere unrelated to firearms purchase.

Hmm ... okay, I missed that.

But, I wonder if the court documentation might still be lacking. As I said, the most common issue I have come across is that the record was not updated. And, what documentation was submitted. Actual court records? Or, records printed from the court website? You might be surpised (appalled?) to learn how often there is a serious disconnect in the system.

 

[quincy]

Hi CdwJava,

The supporting documents I sent include the following.
-Documentation to show arrest record, and the resulting conviction (which differs from the DOJ rapsheet printout.
-Documentation which shows sentencing notes which support incorrect entry
-A letter from my attorney which points out the discrepancy as indicated by the judge during court proceedings when my case was expunged
* It may have also included a printout of court minutes
The court documentation that I submitted contains the needed info to make this change. But it does require some effort to verify.

And yes, there is a serious disconnect in the system to have caused this inaccuracy in my record. My fear is that since my case is almost 30 years old, a lot of the paperwork are no longer available or hard to find.

An update on my search for a phone number.
I was given a phone number which I was told was a direct number to DOJ. The number it turns out is a number to follow up background checks for firearms purchases. Although she did not have access to my case, nor can she share details. She did say that the case did not fall between the cracks, and is in process from what she can see. A useful number just the same, but my priority is elsewhere unrelated to firearms purchase.

It is good to hear that your claim is still being processed and has not been misplaced or lost. That saves you from having to resend all the material.

Please keep us informed, booga. Thanks for the update.

 

[CdwJava]

Hi CdwJava,

The supporting documents I sent include the following.
-Documentation to show arrest record, and the resulting conviction (which differs from the DOJ rapsheet printout.
-Documentation which shows sentencing notes which support incorrect entry
-A letter from my attorney which points out the discrepancy as indicated by the judge during court proceedings when my case was expunged
* It may have also included a printout of court minutes
The court documentation that I submitted contains the needed info to make this change. But it does require some effort to verify.

And yes, there is a serious disconnect in the system to have caused this inaccuracy in my record. My fear is that since my case is almost 30 years old, a lot of the paperwork are no longer available or hard to find.

An update on my search for a phone number.
I was given a phone number which I was told was a direct number to DOJ. The number it turns out is a number to follow up background checks for firearms purchases. Although she did not have access to my case, nor can she share details. She did say that the case did not fall between the cracks, and is in process from what she can see. A useful number just the same, but my priority is elsewhere unrelated to firearms purchase.

Okay, if it is proceeding, you seem to be one of the lucky ones. Many people who seem to have hiccups tend to have issues because the DOJ cannot act absent an action by the court that updates the matter in question. Most often, these are expungements or diversion cases - as yours appears to be.

And, yes, 30 year old records can be gone. Though, I am surprised about drug court ... these did not come into play in CA until the early 1990s. They appeared after I became a cop, so I recall their novelty well.

Good luck negotiating the bureaucracy.

 

[quincy]

Okay, if it is proceeding, you seem to be one of the lucky ones. Many people who seem to have hiccups tend to have issues because the DOJ cannot act absent an action by the court that updates the matter in question. Most often, these are expungements or diversion cases - as yours appears to be.

And, yes, 30 year old records can be gone. Though, I am surprised about drug court ... these did not come into play in CA until the early 1990s. They appeared after I became a cop, so I recall their novelty well.

Good luck negotiating the bureaucracy.

The DOJ will as a rule inform the one making the claim that necessary court documents are missing.

There is a substantial backlog of claims for review right now.

 

[CdwJava]

The DOJ will as a rule inform the one making the claim that necessary court documents are missing.

There is a substantial backlog of claims for review right now.

While I agree that there is a backlog, and that is the most likely cause of the delay, I have known a number of cases where the DOJ has not informed applicants that documents were missing, only that there request was denied or incomplete. Often unhelpful - at least in the opinion of the people that came to MY office. Those are the cases that I got involved in, and, as my agency's records supervisor, I tended to have to play go-between for my local court, neighboring county courts, and the CA DOJ in an effort to try and clear these matters up.

They may have a practice of informing people that their documents are insufficient, but I know from first-hand experience that this is not always the case.

 

[quincy]

... They may have a practice of informing people that their documents are insufficient, but I know from first-hand experience that this is not always the case.

What should happen and what does happen is often quite different. I agree.

 

[booga]

I went through my list of documents to submit carefully. I sent in ALL that I have for the case which includes all copies given to me by the court which I referenced on the BCIA8706 form. If it is a backlog, I am ok with that. My worry as you pointed out is that I am missing some forms, and i am not told of it. Or even worst, that somehow they are stuck during investigation and the forms that I submitted are difficult to verify given this is a VERY old case.

CdwJava, you seem to know this process really well. Do you happen to have a flowchart on how this application is handled at the DOJ?

While I agree that there is a backlog, and that is the most likely cause of the delay, I have known a number of cases where the DOJ has not informed applicants that documents were missing

 

[booga]

Hello Everyone, (update)

On the first week of November, I finally received an email response

Your documents have been processed and you will receive a letter shortly.



Thank you for your inquiry.

CA Department of Justice

Applicant Information & Certification Program

Record Review and Challenge Program – 11

[email protected]

I have been checking my mail daily since January. Nothing in the mail. On another email response, i was told that i will receive a corrected copy of my background check once the case is completed. It has been almost a month and still no mail, so I read that email again looking for answers. Then I realize that "processed" does not really say much as far as the application status is concerned. The same word "processed" can be used to describe that the case has been received.

In the beginning my posts, you may recall i mentioned that I called a department of the DOJ that does firearms purchase checks which had actual people answering calls. I tried that number again, and reached a human voice on the first ring with no prompts. I point that out since all other numbers that i have for the DOJ will guide you along an endless maze of button presses that end up in a voicemail or a recorded info greeting. DOJ firearms purchase department did indicate that my case is COMPLETE. I asked again to make sure that status shows COMPLETE, and she confirmed. Although she could not provide more information than that, I was glad to be able to get that confirmation.

Now my question is - What happened to the mail with a copy of my corrected background check?

I'll try that number Quincy provided at the beginning of this thread and leave a voicemail message. Given that it is a completed case, I am sure that the clerks are more responsive.

Thank you again for your answers in this thread.

I will post with updates.

I went through my list of documents to submit carefully. I sent in ALL that I have for the case which includes all copies given to me by the court which I referenced on the BCIA8706 form. If it is a backlog, I am ok with that. My worry as you pointed out is that I am missing some forms, and i am not told of it. Or even worst, that somehow they are stuck during investigation and the forms that I submitted are difficult to verify given this is a VERY old case.

CdwJava, you seem to know this process really well. Do you happen to have a flowchart on how this application is handled at the DOJ?

 

[quincy]

Hello Everyone, (update)

On the first week of November, I finally received an email response



I have been checking my mail daily since January. Nothing in the mail. On another email response, i was told that i will receive a corrected copy of my background check once the case is completed. It has been almost a month and still no mail, so I read that email again looking for answers. Then I realize that "processed" does not really say much as far as the application status is concerned. The same word "processed" can be used to describe that the case has been received.

In the beginning my posts, you may recall i mentioned that I called a department of the DOJ that does firearms purchase checks which had actual people answering calls. I tried that number again, and reached a human voice on the first ring with no prompts. I point that out since all other numbers that i have for the DOJ will guide you along an endless maze of button presses that end up in a voicemail or a recorded info greeting. DOJ firearms purchase department did indicate that my case is COMPLETE. I asked again to make sure that status shows COMPLETE, and she confirmed. Although she could not provide more information than that, I was glad to be able to get that confirmation.

Now my question is - What happened to the mail with a copy of my corrected background check?

I'll try that number Quincy provided at the beginning of this thread and leave a voicemail message. Given that it is a completed case, I am sure that the clerks are more responsive.

Thank you again for your answers in this thread.

I will post with updates.

Thank you for the update, booga. The news is more positive than negative, which is always nice.

 

[booga]

update

Almost 12 months after sending the BCIA8706 form to DOJ record review, I received a letter to advise me that my DOJ record has been amended.

Thank you again for answering my questions.

 

[CdwJava]

Cool. That seems easier than some. Too often they are a confusing morass of fingerpointing. Glad it was straightened out.

 

[quincy]

Almost 12 months after sending the BCIA8706 form to DOJ record review, I received a letter to advise me that my DOJ record has been amended.

Thank you again for answering my questions.

That is good to hear, booga. We appreciate the update.

And we always appreciate thanks, so thank you for that, too.