Requesting, Reading, and Correcting a Department of Justice Background Report
The best way for most people to learn about the extent of their criminal history is to request a California Department of Justice (DOJ) background report. While the FBI report is useful for criminal records in other states, it is not as detailed as a report from the California DOJ. For instance, the FBI report often does not have accurate case numbers for California cases; case numbers can be very useful when filing a petition to dismiss or motion to reduce a felony in the superior court, particularly when the case is older and the court file has been destroyed.
The DOJ report contains all of a persons arrests and convictions. Notably, not all convictions and arrests are forwarded to the DOJ. There are many instances where an arrest was noted but not a conviction, and vice versa. Nonetheless, in general the California DOJ report is accurate.
It is important to distinguish the DOJ report from a general background check by an employer. Most background check companies for private employers or private housing landlords do not have access to the DOJ report. Instead, they contract with companies who provide background check services. These background check companies in turn send their employees to the local court clerk’s office or online court records to check whether a person has any convictions. DOJ records are private and only limited agencies and employers have access to them. The employers with access to the DOJ record includes certain jobs dealing with sensitive clientele, like nursing, teaching, or law enforcement; these jobs will usually require a fingerprint and the employer will view information directly from the DOJ record. The same is true of an application for a professional license like real estate, nursing, or law. Accordingly, knowledge of the accuracy and extent of the DOJ record is very important.
The DOJ background report is requested by going to the California Department of Justice website under the section "request your own criminal background." (https://oag.ca.gov/fingerprints/record-review) For in state residents, the form on the page needs to be downloaded, filled out, and brought to a livescan location. The website lists local livescan locations. Some people go to the local sheriff’s station for a countywide background report, but it is recommended generally to go to a private livescan location with the California DOJ forms because the sheriff’s office will only run a record check for that specific county, not everywhere else in the state. After getting fingerprinted, paying a small fee (about $40-$60 total), and submitting the form, the DOJ will mail back a report in a week. For out of state residents, livescan locations are unavailable. Accordingly, out of state residents must mail a fingerprint card and a separate form to the DOJ. The information for out of state residents is available on the same web page.
Reading a DOJ report can be difficult. The Law Office of David Reagan helps our clients make sense of it. The important part is following the pattern of arrest to conviction, and knowing which count resulted in the conviction. Following the arrest record closely and corresponding it to the following criminal cases is the easiest way to read the record. Sometimes, after the first section of the report, there is an additional section for information “loosely” matched to the name on file; this may or may not be the same person. Nonetheless, often it is the same person and it is just a continuation of the criminal record. The common abbreviations in the report are the following:
TOC - indicates whether the offense charged is a felony (F) or misdemeanor (M); however, the disposition information for the conviction is more definitive than TOC, so look closely at the conviction information.
NAM - the name the case was under if the person has several names or aliases. A list of aliases (different names) is listed at the beginning of the report with a number next to each variation.
Pros. Rej. Detention Only - the district attorney chose not to file charges.
Dism. Int. of Justice - usually means that one or more counts in the complaint were dismissed in light of a plea agreement to another count. But sometimes this dismissal means that the district attorney dismissed all the charges for lack of evidence or some other issue with the case.
Dism. Penal Code § 1203.4 or Reduced to Misdemeanor under Penal Code § 17(b) - this is the notation added when, post-conviction, a case is dismissed under Penal Code section 1203.4 (expunged) or reduced to a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 17, subdivision (b). The original notations for the case will remain on the record, but they will be followed by this notation. As such, there is no way to truly seal an adult conviction in the DOJ record.
Even though the superior court has granted a dismissal or reduction, the clerk of the superior court sometimes does not forward this information to the Department of Justice as is required under the Penal Code. There are many instances of people who have had a felony reduced to a misdemeanor but are still technically a felon on their DOJ record. This can cause problems with obtaining a firearm or a professional license. The same lack of an update to the DOJ record can occur for a dismissal under Penal Code section 1203.4. The best way to deal with these errors is to make an amendment request to the California Department of Justice. Each background report provided by the DOJ comes with an attached form; this is the appropriate form to use to request an update or amendment to the DOJ record. It can be helpful to have a lawyer help correct the DOJ record because the proper documentation needs to be submitted with the request. Nonetheless, people can correct their own record without an attorney if they have the documentation from the court. Once the amendment request is received, the DOJ updates the record or denies the request with five to eight months.
Knowledge of what is on the DOJ report is a crucial starting point for those seeking to clean their criminal record. It can also be helpful for those applying for professional licenses, firearm ownership, or jobs with livescan requirements to know what certain employers or licensing agencies will see. For any questions regarding a DOJ background report, contact the Law Office of David Reagan
