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Oddly enough, despite my position on background checks, I am actually a lot more "tough" on what should DQ someone from officiating. IMO, a criminal history of any serious crime is pretty telling.
Not because of any hysteria that sounds like "Think of the children!", which is 99% emotional nonsense, but simply because officiating is a job that first and foremost demands exceptional integrity, and a criminal record suggests a lack of said integrity.
However, I also think that hard and fast rules about this are foolish - you need at least some level of subjectivity so people can make sane exceptions. I would basically want to consider things like:
1. The nature of the crime - does it involve issues of trust, integrity, and character?
2. How long ago did it happen? What was the age of the potential official when it happened? Is it likely that this was a one-off incident, or is there a pattern?
3. What level of officiating are we talking about? Is there room for some restrictive rules about what this person can officiate, for some period of time, to ascertain their fitness?
Again, I do not agree that blanket background checks are justified or even ethical, however, in any case.
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