The case was in DC and I plead guilty to .03 bac, but did deferred sentencing/ diversion program and had reverse judgement a few months later. Have to complete a background check for private sector job, which involves no driving. Questionnaire asks if I've ever been convicted or plead guilty to a misdemeanor in the last 5 years (my case was resolved in 2011). Arrest was in 2010. Do I need to divulge the arrest if I did diversion? Any advice is much appreciated.
So long as this is not a federal application for employment, the answer is "NO" to everything. It is still "NO" to any question regarding a conviction, but you may have to explain the initial plea of guilty which was later withdrawn and the case dismissed, if this is a federal application; otherwise, no. BTW, you were never convicted, because you were never sentenced, and the proper way to describe the situation if you must explain it is that the case was dismissed. The court allowed you to "withdraw" your guilty plea on the final disposition date, and that plea was stricken. So, technically, you did not plead guilty to this offense. The government never tried to prove you guilty, and you retain the presumption of innocence until a court finds you guilty, which will never happen here because the government dropped the charges against you. There is an expungement procedure available in DC, which you should look into for this offense, although it mau not be possible for a OWI. I am surprised you would have entered a plea on this low of a breath test result. The threshold level for owi in the District is .05, below which there is no presumption of impairment. I do not know other facts which may be relevant to your case, so I cannot pass judgment, but it's too late to reverse it all now. In any even, you have never been convicted or found guilty. Until expunged, however, this charge will likely appear on a background check, but it should just show the charge and final disposition ("nolle prosequi", which is Latin for "intention not to prosecute").
