STORY TIME. Today i received awful news, a job offering i had received from a company was being rescinded because i did not disclose information prior to a background check. The information in question was 2010 conviction for misdemeanor possession of up to 35 grams of marijuana, however according to the background check (for which HR was nice enough to furnish a copy for me) was listed in conjunction with a felony possession of a controlled substance.
Now both citations i had been arrested for in Feb 2007, however when i attended court in Feb 2010, the felony possession of a controlled substance was dropped by the Prosecuting Attorney and i plead guilty to misdemeanor possession of up to 35 grams.
Now its 2013 and the job i had until this morning is now rescinded because of a felony conviction, reported by a background check, that never happened. naturally i start by immediately calling my lawyer. he responds that according to records they on file pertaining to the specific Case Number in question resulted in a misdemeanor conviction and not a felony conviction. I am advised to search case.net (an unofficial website pertaining to court cases, supported and regulated by the missouri circuit court) and was given the 13th circuit court’s phone number as well. i check case.net, sure enough the case number in question is listed as misdemeanor possession of up to 35 grams conviction. i then go to my next source, the official 13th circuit court’s office number. after a lengthy conversation where i explain to the (very polite/helpful) lady my situation, she agrees to check the courts official database. according to the official database, the same case number is listed a felony possession of a controlled substance conviction. THATS IT? It doesn’t even list the possession of up to 35 grams conviction in conjunction with the felony conviction, just the felony conviction. After asking for an official copy of criminal records she directs me to page where i can print out/fax forms to receive the information.
Now after finding out that the case number filed under case.net and in records of my attorneys (possession of 35 grams/misdemeanor) is radically different then the exact case number filed under the 13 circuit court’s official database (possession of a controlled substance/felony), i call back my attorney to report the findings. After and lengthy hold time and man assurances that i could always leave a message, to which i said “no, ill hold as long as possible,” i speak with my attorney and report the findings. My attorney says for me to fax over my background check report and that the will pull up the specific paper work on my case located in the annex. they say it will take a day to get it out of the annex and to call back tomorrow.
So now comes my question, do i have grounds to sue on the basis of clerical error? After all the wrong conviction information was processed on the official database of the 13th circuit court, contrary to the information my lawyer has (they did bring up an abbreviated court sentence on their computers, but the specifics on my base are located at the annex), contrary to case.net the unofficial reporting site for my case number and deposition.
i’ve made plenty of mistakes in my past and did rather dumb crap, but i worked my way out of the legal hole and thought id had recused myself of the past. today i lost a good paying job with benefits, i have a B.A. degree and really thought my days of working minimum wage post graduation were over, that i had finally found my big break, a job that overlooked the known offenses i had on my record and instead looked at the qualification i met for the job. now because the information was either entered incorrectly (the most likely) or some radical conspiracy was placed against me (the most unlikely), i face a criminal record that does not match what i was convicted in court of.
if anyone can answer my question and, let alone, read the novel i have written to explain my situation, it would be greatly appreciated.