Is a guilty plea but no conviction recorded 19 years ago mean I have a criminal record?

Question

In 1990 I wrote a letter to an old business partner in Australia which said I would expose his illegal real estate dealings if he continued to harass me. I was charged with blackmail by the police and advised to plead guilty by my lazy lawyer which I did. No conviction was recorded and I was wondering if It would appear on a criminal record check or not? Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

no it should not if it does it will be sealed and they will not be able to find out

Answer 2

It states exactly what it said, "No conviction recorded" So there is no record of your conviction because you were not convicted.

Answer 3

No conviction was recorded that is wierd - was it a spent conviction?  In WA regardless of it being spent or not it will appear on your criminal record - meaning the police will have this information that there was an arrest and you received a spent conviction.  However if you needed to get a record of spent convictions to provide to a prospective employer you go to your police station and ask for a record of no convictions - and if it was a spent conviction, it should not appear on this.  I am not sure what part of Australia you are living in as there are differences in legislation between the states and territories.

Answer 4

If the court ordered no conviction recorded then it will not appear on any criminal history check.

Answer 5

It depends on what state you are in.  Go to www.criminalsearches.com and input your name to see if something comes up.  Depending on the state you are in, if you do have a record when no conviction was recorded, you may be able to have the case expunged off your record.