So, you've got your case dismissed and expunged from your record. Here's why you shouldn't have celebrated too soon. If you got your case dismissed, that doesn't mean it's gone from public record. Other people can still see it. Now, what they see is an arrest and they see a dismissal, but they can't see a conviction because you weren't convicted. Well, what if you were convicted and you get your record expunged? You still shouldn't throw a party because 5 years later, there are databases out there that will still show your information and it'll still pop up on record searches even after you get it expunged.