LTC application with supposedly expunged record

New Criminal Justice Reform Laws Mass. Expungement - 10-14-2018

* AFTER an expungement order (G.L.c. 276 Section 100 M, N, T)
1. After a record is expunged, Massachusetts law now provides that no person whose record was expunged shall be held guilty of perjury or giving false statement due to a failure to acknowledge the record in response to any inquiry made for any purpose
2. You can say you have "no record" after expungement.


There was a thread/topic here on NES where someone was asking about what if the licensing officer is "pushing" for an explanation on Question 4 ( https://www.mass.gov/files/2017-06/Updated LTC_FID card app - REVISED 05.19.15.pdf ) after his/her record was expunged
.. not sure if that poster got an answer or not, would be interesting to hear.

if a LO "insist", then "deny the applicants LTC" for "perjury" , could/would the applicant sue that PD/LO ?


You bring up a really good point here. There's some caselaw that touches on this issue.

CHIEF OF POLICE OF SHELBURNE vs. MOYER, 16 Mass. App. Ct. 543



In this case the court is winking at part of the issue we're discussing, do sealed records apply to LTC's? The next case is where it gets really interesting IMO.

RZEZNIK vs. CHIEF OF POLICE OF SOUTHAMPTON, 374 Mass. 475



This case deals with the Mass. statute on expunged records and gun licenses, and it only deals with actual convictions, so it's not a perfect match to this issue but it definitely gives us some food for thought. In short, the courts said that LE can have access to sealed records, and since he admitted to it in court it's not really sealed anymore. The courts haven't ruled decisively on whether or not a sealed record that isn't a DQing conviction can be accessed by LE. They have ruled that convictions from out of state can be used against you if you don't tell them on an LTC app, but in the OP's friend's case, there's no conviction here, just the appearance.

If I had to guess I'd say that the courts would rule that it had to be disclosed, but it opens up some interesting new avenues if you do admit to it anywhere in the legal realm, such as an LTC application.



Yes. The question asks if you've ever appeared in court for criminal charges, and it's worded broadly enough to include any kind of appearance, even if the charges were thrown out and the cops were scolded for trumping up charges.


GSG ( no longer here) that case-link was about "sealed" records, it's different than an "expunged" record...

...but like said, Question 4 on Mass License application is "worded" in a way to eff the applicant over for "misinterpreting" it.

I heard Boston PD uses their "own" (illegal) form for LTC/FID application, (some green paper form) , is Question 4 included on the BPD application ? or a "similar" question ?
 
Boston uses an illegal form of their own creation. MGL dictates that ONLY the state approved form is to be used by ALL departments. Boston chooses to ignore the laws. And nobody (including judges) is going to force them to comply.
 
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