Q: Job application crime question based on past sting deemed petty misdemeanor
Currently applying to a few jobs and if the question arises on a an application for if you have ever committed a crime. I was hit by a sting operation years ago for selling cigarettes to a minor. The conviction was a petty misdemeanor which is also considered not a crime in Minnesota. Does this also show on background checks?
A: The correct answer, if it is have you have committed a crime, is yes. The fact that it was resolved as a petty misdemeanor, which is not a crime, doesn't mean that it wasn't a crime when the offense occurred. Questions like this are very specific on the language that is used, so I would be clear on what exactly you are being asked.
A:
Under the Minnesota Court Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 23.02, "Certification as Petty Misdemeanor by Sentence Imposed," "A conviction is deemed a petty misdemeanor if the sentence imposed is within petty misdemeanor limits."
If a person was charged with a misdemeanor crime, then was convicted with a sentence imposed within petty misdemeanor limits, then that is not a criminal conviction. Rather, it is a petty misdemeanor conviction.
As for background checks, it would depend upon which government records are checked.
It would be on the public court record. But probably not on the public NCIC record. You could check those records (and others) yourself to see which show it.
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