Do I have to answer yes when asked about an expunged juvenile misdemeanor drug charge in a deposition?

No. Under Florida law, having a case expunged has the effect of a person being able to lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the entire case, including the arrest. Therefore, you are allowed to say no. That being said, even if you did admit to arrest it is unlikely that anything could be done about it. In Florida, a person can be asked about any adult felony convictions or convictions for crimes involving dishonesty (for example, theft). So even if the lawyers knew you had a juvenile misdemeanor arrest, it likely could not come up during a trial.

First, it may help to know that you are certain your record was expunged or sealed. Thinking it happened may not be the case. Second, the statutes governing sealing and expungement are best summed up by this statement from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: The following considerations are relevant to the decision whether to seek the judicial sealing or expunction of a juvenile criminal history record. Prior to October 1, 1994, juvenile arrest records were not maintained by FDLE in the criminal history record system. Juvenile arrests for felonies prior to October 1, 1994, and juvenile arrests for misdemeanors prior to July 1, 1996, are not available to the general public unless the juvenile was treated as an adult. Juvenile records are subject to an abbreviated retention schedule, if certain qualifications are met, which results in the automatic expunction of the record after a specified period, under s. 943.0515, Florida Statutes. Juvenile defendants who successfully complete a qualified diversion program, as set out in s. 943.0582, Florida Statutes, may be eligible for expunction of their record as the term is defined therein. If a person wishes to pursue the judicial sealing or expunction of his or her juvenile record, the eligibility criteria and procedure, which are similar to those for adults, are found in s. 943.059 and s. 943.0585, Florida Statutes. With that in mind, I'm not in a position to give you a "yes" or "no" answer over the internet. You should consult an attorney. There are some excellant attorneys in the Jacksonville area.

If in fact the record is expunged the law permits you to deny having been arrested. However, the law also provides that cetain entities are entitled to discover the existence of a sealed or expunged criminal history record. Therefore you should familiarize yourself with those entities as the question depends upon who is asking about the prior record. Chris Frey