Ten years ago I was cited for “Disorder Conduct Obscene Lang/Gest” in Chester County. Since then I have had no run-ins with the law. I have been doing some research as far as having this expunged from my record, and still have a few things I am unclear about.

1. I read somewhere recently (sorry I cannot find the link) that it's unwritten rule in Chester County that you need an attorney to file the expungement request in order to have any chance of success or else you can forget it. Is this true?

2. What is a “NT Summary Docket”?

3. I ran a check on the PA state site https://epatch.state.pa.us and my record came up clear. However, I understand it will definitely show up under a UJS search. My question is, why would someone even run a background check and not include the UJS portal? Does this take some special effort such as going physically to the municipal courthouse or cost a lot of extra money or something like that?

4. Is a summary offense considered a crime? Specifically, do I need to answer “yes” on a job application in order to be accurate in answering the question?

Thank you for any assistance with this!