It might come as no surprise that being accused of any type of unlawful behavior can be an exceedingly stressful experience. When facing similar concerns, you may have questions about how a conviction for the charges you face might impact your life. Facing potential penalties, such as probation, jail time and monetary fines, can be daunting enough as is.
However, these might not be the only challenges you face, as you may also have concerns about how having a conviction on your record could impact your future. Whether you are seeking employment or searching for new living arrangements, one of the first questions you might have could pertain to whether your case will show up on a CORI search.
Things to know about CORI
The Criminal Offender Record Information database is a system that stores information on all criminal cases in Massachusetts. Some things to know about the CORI search process may include:
- Criminal charges: One of the first things to note may involve the fact that the CORI database holds information on every criminal case in the state, even if there was no conviction or the case resulted in a dismissal of charges.
- Your rights: It could also be helpful to know that you retain the right to request a copy of your CORI report, and knowing what is in this report could prove integral in various ways.
- Possible impact: Information on a CORI report could affect your ability to obtain employment in certain fields, impact your options for obtaining new housing arrangements or even affect your ability to perform certain types of volunteer work.
- What isn’t included: There are some types of information that might not appear on a CORI search, such as cases involving minors or information for restraining orders if there are no criminal charges involved.
Another thing to know could involve the notion that information about your case might not fall off this database with time, as experts indicate that even older criminal cases will still appear on a CORI search.
Addressing your legal rights and options
Facing legal concerns can be daunting enough as is, and it might not always be easy to know how the outcome of your situation might impact your life. Seeking advice on what to expect from the CORI search process could prove essential to helping you better understand your legal rights and options. In doing so, you could also obtain insight on the next steps to take to protect your rights and interests and prepare to approach your future with a renewed sense of optimism.
