Q: plea deal changed my simple possession to possession of paraphernalia but on courtbar it still says sim. pos. why?
I was charged with a simple possession of marijuana less than 10g and as part of my plea deal it was supposed to be reduced to possession of paraphernalia. however when I search my name online through courtbar.org it is still listed as the simple possession charge and marked guilty. Why is this and is the possession charge or the paraphernalia charge what shows up on my record for background checks?
A:
You should contact your previous attorney, or go to the clerk's office for the most specific answer to your question. Courtbar.org appears to link to the Virginia Supreme Court's website, which I am very familiar with. When you pull up your case, under "charge information" it will have "possession of marijuana," correct? But, if you look directly below that field, and go down three other fields, you should see a field titled "Amended Charge." In THAT field, you should see, "possession of paraphernalia."
You're probably overlooking that field, which shows what your charge was changed to, and only seeing the original charge, and the guilty finding. But, if there was a guilty finding, you should examine whether the charge was amended, and what it was amended to. That will be the charge you were found guilty of, not the original.
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