[RikaStrom]

This is going to follow the kid for the rest of his life, and WILL impact his ability to become and have a career with any sort of a security clearance (if the arrest record is the only difference between him and another equally rated/qualified person for a single open position)

This is alighty inaccurate, arrest does not mean conviction. A lot of people are arrested, not all of them are convicted.

The conviction, now that will cause some problems especially if a candidate doesn't come clean about it. But that little box on an application... have you ever been convicted, plead nolo contender or (etc, etc, etc). He can still put a big fat No in there, granted that could change over his life time, but right now, still a big fat No.

[tanknetter]

Look up the SF86, Questionnare for National Security Positions, section 22.1. It asks for all arrests, then the disposition of them.

Again, people who were around at the time will recall how Linda Tripp was attacked because she hadn’t listed an expunged arrest on her 86.