Legal Question in Criminal Law in Nebraska

Over a year ago, I was arrested for domestic assault. Both my boyfriend and I were intoxicated at the time of this mutual incident and my boyfriend received minor scratches on his shoulder (he had his shirt off at the time of our altercation), while I received no physical injuries. After I was booked into jail, I was informed that the prosecutor in the case was lowering my charge to 3rd degree assault. I was immediately released once I posted bail. After it was all said and done, I was convicted of 'Disturbing the Peace' and simply paid a fee by waiver (I never had to actually appear in court) thanks to my wonderful attorney.

I am finishing up my masters degree to become a speech-language pathologist. We are required to submit comprehensive background checks to committees within our department on campus who will then review them. I am greatly concerned about my arrest record. Is this something that they will have access to in the background check - and since I was not actually convicted of domestic assault or 3rd degree assault, can they penalize me for that arrest record?

Thank you in advance for any help or advice!


Asked on 10/20/11, 5:24 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Duke Drouillard Drouillard Law, LLC

Based on the facts you provided, your criminal record should show an arrest for assault and a conviction for disturbing the peace. If this causes a problem for you, you might want to hire an attorney. If this happened in Nebraska, you cannot get those entries removed from your record. You can have an attorney apply to the court to set aside the conviction. If your attorney is successful, it will still show the arrest and conviction, but it will also show that the court later set aside the conviction. This is enough to satisfy most employers.

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Answered on 10/24/11, 12:56 pm


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