Youthful Offender Job Application

[phigmessina]

I was arrested at age 19 in NY and faced a criminal possession of marijuana and possession of stolen property. I was given a youthful offender status and told that my record was sealed, but now I'm applying for a job at Duke University, and I'm a little worried. In the application process it asks if I have ever been convicted of a crime, to which I answered no, but then they ask me: "have you ever resolved criminal charges a) by pleading no contest (nolo contendere); agreeing to a plea bargain; b)accepting a prayer for continued judgment; entered into a consent decree; or, c) agreed to any resolution in which you accepted responsibility for a crime? My question is, is my record actually sealed (I know for instance that the government has access), or can I answer no to all of these questions?

[AFFA]

I wish to inform you that generally when your record is sealed this means that you can legally say that you have not committed any offence. In this when your offence is sealed then it will be visible to few type of organisations like law enforcement agencies, certain government departments, for taking certain professional licences, etc. Hence you may say that you have not committed the offence because your job may not come within the prescribed category.

AFF