Just got second DUI, what to do next? Forum

[Drake014]

If he is a rich kid, then yeah. If he's someone whose had a really shitty life then he has my sympathy and I strongly encourage he seek help.

I had a tough upbringing too. I don't do stupid shit. No sympathy from me.

What if he was a survivor of an African genocide and he needed alcohol just to block out the horrors of watching his entire village massacred?

Even so that doesn't give a person the right to hurt others. Yes that's terrible and the person should get counselling but the truth is there is no excuse for continually putting peoples life in danger.

1. It was clearly a joke.
2. Who the fuck said anything about it excusing drunk driving? That's right up there with people who think explaining a bad behavior is excusing it. Nope, not the same.

[RCRARollin]

I've applied to various law schools in Ohio as well as a few in Chicago and Pittsburgh.

The problem is I was charged with a DUI about three years ago and it was dropped to Physical Control. I was recently charged with a second DUI, technically a first offense being that the previous charge was reduced. I am in the process of sending the notifications to the schools to which I applied and am aware that this will have an effect on my admission. My question is how much of an effect will this have on my potential admission to law school and future admission to the bar.

Also, I plan on have an evaluation done at a drug and alcohol treatment center and am wondering if there is anything further I should be doing, and would it be at all helpful to mention that I will be undergoing the evaluation when updating the schools to which I applied about the incident?

This thread is too long for me to check if this question has been correctly answered yet. As the majority of people have said, shame on you for drinking and driving. Find a way to get some counseling/help.

To answer your question, this should not affect your chances of being admitted to law school to any large extent. What I would worry about would be gaining admission to your state bar after you graduate. Many are very stern with substance abuse and honesty. Thus, you definitely should let the schools you are applying to know about the DUIs (so it will be in your file that the bar looks at to see you didnt lie). Secondly, contact your state bar and ask them if this will be an issue.

Many of these posters are over-dramatising the situation in regards to your future as an attorney. Get your drinking sorted out and good luck pursuing your legal career.

[YourCaptain]

Seriously, you don't belong in law school. You seem like a rich kid who got bailed out once for drinking and driving and you are that asshole who didn't learn from it and did it again.

If he is a rich kid, then yeah. If he's someone whose had a really shitty life then he has my sympathy and I strongly encourage he seek help.

God I hope you're trolling.

[ahduth]

To answer your question, this should not affect your chances of being admitted to law school to any large extent. What I would worry about would be gaining admission to your state bar after you graduate. Many are very stern with substance abuse and honesty. Thus, you definitely should let the schools you are applying to know about the DUIs (so it will be in your file that the bar looks at to see you didnt lie). Secondly, contact your state bar and ask them if this will be an issue.

Many of these posters are over-dramatising the situation in regards to your future as an attorney. Get your drinking sorted out and good luck pursuing your legal career.

lulz. You're saying adcomm is going to look at this guy and say, "well, he wasn't able to figure out that committing a felony is a TERRIBLE idea the first time - maybe this second time will have learned him real good." Never mind the fact that he's either completely immature or completely callous for doing this kind of stuff in the first place. Why would they take him over hundreds of other qualified candidates? As an adcomm I'd send him to Ave Maria. Maybe he can find Jesus there, and Jesus can help him sort out his life.

[TJISMYHERO]

I forgot adcoms get to send people places.

[dresden doll]

Here's a thought. Even if you get into LS, you still have to pass the bar in 3 years.

Here's a thought: the bar for failing c and f is ridiculously high.

[fatduck]

Here's a thought. Even if you get into LS, you still have to pass the bar in 3 years.

Here's a thought: the bar for failing c and f is ridiculously high.

You misunderstood. He has to pass the bar on the way to work without stopping in for a drink.

[stintez]

My friend at ohio state got one dui before law school and one while in law school he finished in the top 25% of his class had to take classes for his drinking deal with the legal consequences and as of last year passed the bar first try and now works at a law firm making 66k in cbus. So I suppose it's not going to be the end of the world. Good luck.

[Renzo]

You want my advice? Here it is.

[nshapkar]

Here's a thought. Even if you get into LS, you still have to pass the bar in 3 years.

Here's a thought: the bar for failing c and f is ridiculously high.

you're saying it's hard to not pass c&f?

I've only contacted one state to ask about my situation (NY) and the answer was it should not be a problem. I got a my two felony possession charges reduced to one misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia (had a bowl on me). It's been two years since it's happened and I haven't had so much as a parking ticket since then. You guys think this might pose a problem later on? I've only gotten into one school but my numbers weren't that great, so I'm taking a year off to improve that.

[reverendt]

I've heard some horror stories about DUIs and the Ohio bar.
You better talk to whatever school you decide on....talk to the dean and get his/her honest take on whether or not this could screw you for character and fitness.
You don't want to waste 3 years of time and money only to find out that the bar won't admit you....

[romothesavior]

My friend at ohio state got one dui before law school and one while in law school he finished in the top 25% of his class had to take classes for his drinking deal with the legal consequences and as of last year passed the bar first try and now works at a law firm making 66k in cbus. So I suppose it's not going to be the end of the world. Good luck.

One DUI is different than two. One can be written off as a stupid mistake, but two is more of a "Come on dude, get a grip" type of situation. I'm not an adcomm obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of those things that sent up red flags for admissions people.

I think OP should be fine for the C&F. I just think having two DUIs is going to hurt him for acceptances and scholarships.

Also, +1 to renzo.

[RCRARollin]

To answer your question, this should not affect your chances of being admitted to law school to any large extent. What I would worry about would be gaining admission to your state bar after you graduate. Many are very stern with substance abuse and honesty. Thus, you definitely should let the schools you are applying to know about the DUIs (so it will be in your file that the bar looks at to see you didnt lie). Secondly, contact your state bar and ask them if this will be an issue.

Many of these posters are over-dramatising the situation in regards to your future as an attorney. Get your drinking sorted out and good luck pursuing your legal career.

lulz. You're saying adcomm is going to look at this guy and say, "well, he wasn't able to figure out that committing a felony is a TERRIBLE idea the first time - maybe this second time will have learned him real good." Never mind the fact that he's either completely immature or completely callous for doing this kind of stuff in the first place. Why would they take him over hundreds of other qualified candidates? As an adcomm I'd send him to Ave Maria. Maybe he can find Jesus there, and Jesus can help him sort out his life.

If he is above both medians, they aren't taking someone below their medians over him. Law schools don't report DUIs to USNews. All he has to do is show some remorse and say it won't happen again.

[stintez]

My friend at ohio state got one dui before law school and one while in law school he finished in the top 25% of his class had to take classes for his drinking deal with the legal consequences and as of last year passed the bar first try and now works at a law firm making 66k in cbus. So I suppose it's not going to be the end of the world. Good luck.

One DUI is different than two. One can be written off as a stupid mistake, but two is more of a "Come on dude, get a grip" type of situation. I'm not an adcomm obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of those things that sent up red flags for admissions people.


My friend had two like I said one before and one during I think the first one was dropped to a reckless but it shouldn't matter either way.

I think OP should be fine for the C&F. I just think having two DUIs is going to hurt him for acceptances and scholarships.

Also, +1 to renzo.

[dresden doll]

Here's a thought. Even if you get into LS, you still have to pass the bar in 3 years.

Here's a thought: the bar for failing c and f is ridiculously high.

you're saying it's hard to not pass c&f?

That is exactly what I'm saying. The myth about difficulties in re: passing c and f is one of the most annoying, most persistent myths on this site.

[lisjjen]

Here's a thought. Even if you get into LS, you still have to pass the bar in 3 years.

Here's a thought: the bar for failing c and f is ridiculously high.

You misunderstood. He has to pass the bar on the way to work without stopping in for a drink.

ROFLcopter.

You made my ignorance entertaining, and for that I am grateful.

[DoubleChecks]

My friend at ohio state got one dui before law school and one while in law school he finished in the top 25% of his class had to take classes for his drinking deal with the legal consequences and as of last year passed the bar first try and now works at a law firm making 66k in cbus. So I suppose it's not going to be the end of the world. Good luck.

One DUI is different than two. One can be written off as a stupid mistake, but two is more of a "Come on dude, get a grip" type of situation. I'm not an adcomm obviously, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was one of those things that sent up red flags for admissions people.

My friend had two like I said one before and one during I think the first one was dropped to a reckless but it shouldn't matter either way.

I think OP should be fine for the C&F. I just think having two DUIs is going to hurt him for acceptances and scholarships.

Also, +1 to renzo.

well keep in mind, a lot of people may be biased in their responses to the added difficulty of OP getting INTO law school because OP is an extremely callous, immature person who repeatedly puts others lives in danger. makes you not want him to succeed...but life's unfair, so technically he still can.

[dood]

I've applied to various law schools in Ohio as well as a few in Chicago and Pittsburgh.

The problem is I was charged with a DUI about three years ago and it was dropped to Physical Control. I was recently charged with a second DUI, technically a first offense being that the previous charge was reduced. I am in the process of sending the notifications to the schools to which I applied and am aware that this will have an effect on my admission. My question is how much of an effect will this have on my potential admission to law school and future admission to the bar.

Also, I plan on have an evaluation done at a drug and alcohol treatment center and am wondering if there is anything further I should be doing, and would it be at all helpful to mention that I will be undergoing the evaluation when updating the schools to which I applied about the incident?

lol stop drinking and driving bro.

[gbpackerbacker]

Question: What does one have to do not to pass the c & f section of the bar? Honestly, I only have read of once person not passing because of debt or something.

Edit:

Oh, and OP is an idiot.

[dood]

Question: What does one have to do not to pass the c & f section of the bar? Honestly, I only have read of once person not passing because of debt or something.

that was a special case where the guy basically said "im not going to pay this debt back and have no plan to." it wasnt the fact he had massive debt that got him C&F pwned, it was the fact that not repaying a debt indicates bad moral character, and he was just OK with breaking his promise. usually this is the ticket to failing C&F - "bad character"

so it varies - there are cases were people have been convicted of manslaughter and still pass C&F b/c the crime they did was an unfortunate accident and they are still of honest character. or cases where people have a solid criminal record from their youth but have shown they are completely rehabilitated. on the other hand, theft crimes indicate "moral turpitude", so even a minor theft related crimes could get u C&F pwnd. all depends. one DUI from a long time ago might not be a big deal, but multiple DUIs from recent years - im willing to bet they at minimum request an interview to judge the applicants character.

oh EDIT: anyways, the emphasis on good moral character is b/c lawyers are 1) often in positions where they have a duty to "do the right thing" (fiduciary duty, etc), 2) know the law and thus have the power to "cheat the system" if not honest.

[lisjjen]

Question: What does one have to do not to pass the c & f section of the bar? Honestly, I only have read of once person not passing because of debt or something.

that was a special case where the guy basically said "im not going to pay this debt back and have no plan to." it wasnt the fact he had massive debt that got him C&F pwned, it was the fact that not repaying a debt indicates bad moral character, and he was just OK with breaking his promise. usually this is the ticket to failing C&F - "bad character"

so it varies - there are cases were people have been convicted of manslaughter and still pass C&F b/c the crime they did was an unfortunate accident and they are still of honest character. or cases where people have a solid criminal record from their youth but have shown they are completely rehabilitated. on the other hand, theft crimes indicate "moral turpitude", so even a minor theft related crimes could get u C&F pwnd. all depends. one DUI from a long time ago might not be a big deal, but multiple DUIs from recent years - im willing to bet they at minimum request an interview to judge the applicants character.

So in this scenario, if OP get a third DUI in LS. Let's say he totals a car or injures somebody, could he still pass C&F?

[alexonfyre]

Question: What does one have to do not to pass the c & f section of the bar? Honestly, I only have read of once person not passing because of debt or something.

that was a special case where the guy basically said "im not going to pay this debt back and have no plan to." it wasnt the fact he had massive debt that got him C&F pwned, it was the fact that not repaying a debt indicates bad moral character, and he was just OK with breaking his promise. usually this is the ticket to failing C&F - "bad character"

so it varies - there are cases were people have been convicted of manslaughter and still pass C&F b/c the crime they did was an unfortunate accident and they are still of honest character. or cases where people have a solid criminal record from their youth but have shown they are completely rehabilitated. on the other hand, theft crimes indicate "moral turpitude", so even a minor theft related crimes could get u C&F pwnd. all depends. one DUI from a long time ago might not be a big deal, but multiple DUIs from recent years - im willing to bet they at minimum request an interview to judge the applicants character.

So in this scenario, if OP get a third DUI in LS. Let's say he totals a car or injures somebody, could he still pass C&F?

Depends on the state. In mine I know of attorneys who have been indicted for assault and battery and didn't get disbarred until they actually went to jail for doing it again. The only real rule is that they are much more harsh on crimes of dishonesty (theft, perjury, fraud) than things like DUI, but obviously repeat offenders of everything will probably have a rough time.

[dood]

So in this scenario, if OP get a third DUI in LS. Let's say he totals a car or injures somebody, could he still pass C&F?

i did a fair amount of research on this b/c i was worried, and the honest answer is: all depends if he is truly a good person. i think 3 DUIs makes it pretty easy for a C&F committee to infer he is beyond simple "careless" and in the category of "reckless"....but u never know, maybe he waits a few years without, gets into AA, has letters of rec, who knows? but keep in mind, DUIs in some states are felonies. in CA, 3 strikes and you're out (LinkRemoved) so with 3 DUIs there, OP has more than C&F to worry about.

[dood]

Depends on the state. In mine I know of attorneys who have been indicted for assault and battery and didn't get disbarred until they actually went to jail for doing it again. The only real rule is that they are much more harsh on crimes of dishonesty (theft, perjury, fraud) than things like DUI, but obviously repeat offenders of everything will probably have a rough time.

this is all correct, but note it is generally easier to not get disbarred than to pass C&F for the first time, all other things being equal.

[alexonfyre]

Depends on the state. In mine I know of attorneys who have been indicted for assault and battery and didn't get disbarred until they actually went to jail for doing it again. The only real rule is that they are much more harsh on crimes of dishonesty (theft, perjury, fraud) than things like DUI, but obviously repeat offenders of everything will probably have a rough time.

this is all correct, but note it is generally easier to not get disbarred than to pass C&F for the first time, all other things being equal.

Fair enough, I have been trying to read up on C & F, but the info out there is sparse, vague, and those who don't make it rarely publish the story. For those reasons I have been looking more at disbarments and trying to extrapolate from that.