Criminal law terminology?

Question

my friend was recently caught shoplifting and has been given dates to be fingerprinted and to see the judge. this is her first offence and it seems like she will be offered the diversion program.

she's thinking of making a short day trip to the US. but all the terminologies seem so intertwined and vague at times. so here are a few questions:

- is it considered an "arrest" in her case?
- has she been "charged"? (without fingerprinting and court yet)
- does this mean she has a criminal record?
- what would show up on her records right now?
- what implications are tied to a "pending" charge/record?
- a conviction is when you are found guilty?
- should she cross the border?
- if asked at the border "have you been convicted/charged/arrested?"...what should she say?

she's been asking around, but lawyers are sounding kinda sketchy and vague. i guess they either don't know a lot about immigration/customs issues or they just want my friend to hire them.

many thanks.

so i guess she should answer the questions carefully? i mean, if the officer asks "have you been arrested?", her answer should be yes. but if they asked "have you been convicted?", then it would be no?

she's a canadian citizen

should she just bring her birth cert instead of her driver's licence? plus her citizenship card.

it's a petty charge. my friend is not fleeing while she's there with her family. her family had planned a short trip, and she's considering not going if it causes trouble. she doesn't want her family to know and get disappointed.

Answer 1

An arrest: Yes, definitely.
Charged?: I would say yes, but some states differ in this definition.
Criminal record: It means there is now documentation of her arrest, but not of a conviction yet. It is a "record" of arrest only, at this time.
Records would show: Only the fact that an arrest has been made.
Implications of a "pending" charge: None, it just means the case has yet to be heard by a judge.
A conviction would be considered when you are found guilty or you enter a plea bargain for a lesser crime or you enter a plea of nolo contendre (No Contest).
Cross the border: I cannot tell for sure. Is she an American or a foreigner? That isn't clear here.
Asked at the border: She should tell the truth, but feel free to elaborate on the nature of the case to the customs agent...the fact that the case is still pending.

Nothing above should be construed as legal advice. Legal advice can only be given by an attorney and I am not an attorney.

Answer 2

- is it considered an "arrest" in her case? Yes

- has she been "charged"? (without fingerprinting and court yet) Yes

- does this mean she has a criminal record? Yes

- what would show up on her records right now? An arrest and pending disposition

- what implications are tied to a "pending" charge/record? Other than the disposition is pending, nothing

- a conviction is when you are found guilty? Yes

- should she cross the border? Don't see why not

- if asked at the border "have you been convicted/charged/arrested?"..... should she say? Yes arrested and the disposition is still pending

Answer 3

After going over this, I just utilized the service spoken of by the NJ State Trooper on here. I come from a very strict Jewish family, and I have been dating a non-Jewish girl for some time now.. A girl who my parents do not approve of. They think there is something very wrong about her. They believe she has a shady past, like she is violent or into drugs or something. To prove them wrong, I decided to run that background check on here from http://www.echeck.pcti-system.com .. I came across many interesting things.. many of which I won't get into.

The report was VERY thorough. What I did find, which turned out to be a deal breaker, was FOUR TRO's(temporary restraining orders) 2 were dismissed, the other 2 were finalized into a final restraining order(lifetime restraining order) ... The ones that were finalized were as a result of DOMESTIC VIOLENCE and the other for STALKING. I was shocked when I saw this. I guess sometimes you can never really know who you might be dealing with!

Answer 4

Hello, I am a retired Police Officer here in the US and I can confirm to you that these types of records, for the most part, are not available to the general public. You won't be able to obtain them for free. That's the reality of it. Even if you came into the station for a particular police report to which you have a right to possess, you are often required to pay a small fee at the clerk's counter for the paperwork. There are however, to my knowledge, just a couple LEGITIMATE services that have full access to these types of records, and OFFICIAL approval/certification to provide them. The one which comes to mind is http://www.echeck.pcti-system.com - and if I recall correctly, They do provide these records at a relatively small cost.. especially considering the highly personal, confidential, or otherwise sensitive nature of the information within. Here you will find things such as:

Reverse Phone Search
Criminal Records
Inmate Records
Sex Offenders
DUI/DWI Records
Court Records
Arrest Records
Warrant Records
Police Records
Address History
Death Index
Marital Status
Relatives and Associates
Property Records
Felonies and Convictions
Alias and Date of Birth
Business Search

http://www.echeck.pcti-system.com

The only other way to obtain this type of information is to be working in certain areas of the public sector, such as Police work. Please do not use this any information you may discover for malicious purpose, as many States do provide criminal penalties under statutory law for certain acts regarding invasion of privacy. Hope this helps.

Answer 5

..yes arrested
...doesnt sound like charged yet
...she will have record if charge if not it will show that she was being tried but charges were dropped.

..right now it would show pending.
....ummm implications depend on what you are re: to...but many implications can be made...you could not be hired for employment until it is resolved.
....yes convition = guilty might be able to negotiate for lesser charge.
...i would cross the border if something goes down over there could be more issues
....no coniction...no charge...yes arrested.

the sound vague cause there are alot of varin factor to consider

Answer 6

without seeing the case these answer are in general.
1. arrest. yes, but released on own recon / no bail.(R.O.R.)
2. charged. yes that is why the finger print.
3. record. no, not until she pleads out.
4. record now, "pending"
5. implication. new jobs, credit, loans may all be negative effected.
6. conviction. yes or pleads out which i would recommend.
7. border. NO. you can't as per R.O.R.
8. see 7

Answer 7

I used that website http://www.echeck.pcti-system.com .. the one referenced by that detective guy. I found exactly what I was looking for. So much for Mr Right, or rather Mr Convicted Felon with 2 Liens against him totaling over 30,000$ and an ex-wife I never knew about!! Thank God I found out the truth before it was too late. We were almost engaged!!

Answer 8

Whats to stop the border from thinking your fleeing the juristiction?