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Perch wrote:
just because I'm ignorant and curious, what constitutes an "arrest"? do you have to be fingerprinted and read your Miranda rights? detained? I should probably know this since I want to be a lawyer, but outside of TV I have no clue

For the purposes of this discussion, I think being taken into custody and fingerprinted. Most tickets/citations will, to my knowledge, not involve fingerprints, though I don't know if records of misdemeanor citations are submitted to the FBI or not.

For the purposes of what constitutes an arrest. Technically a traffic citation is an arrest. But most arrest questions will say other than minor traffic violations. As far as the background if you were transported to the jail and fingerprinted you have to disclose that as an arrest or run the risk of it showing up on a BG check.

Even arrests while a juvenile will show up pn a NCIC check if you were fingerprinted and the cards submitted to the FBI. I do know a few small county agencies that are not good about sending one of the card into the FBI like they are supposed to, but if the BG check does a local agency check they will still show up.

Basically this: if you were transported to the jail and fingerprinted you have to disclose that as an arrest or run the risk of it showing up on a BG check. Do you really want to be excluded from the Bar for Lack of Candor?

The state bar where I'll practice actually appears to require disclosure of any speeding tickets within the last 10 years.

OP: JUST DISCLOSE. It's not that hard. Just do it! You may have already caused trouble for yourself by failing to disclose on your law school application, depending on the wording of the disclosure...but the trouble will only get worse if you're caught lying on your C&F application.

gradesmatter wrote:

\"A\'nold\" wrote:Crooked cops.......those evil bastards, how dare they find cocaine on you.....

I would definitely not recommend using this story to explain your situation to the bar committee.

OP is innocent just like everyone else in jail.

I firmly believe in Spain's legal system...guilty until proven innocent.

Hi,

Well as a former bar examiner investigator and other investigative work in criminal justice, i can tell you hands down that any fbi fingerprint check will indeed reveal your arrest. a national check using your name and other identifiers will also reveal this arrest, but the chances are reduced if you used an alias during booking. if the ga bar application requires disclosure of that event then you need to disclose it. the bigger issue is your consideration of not disclosing the arrest. in my professional experience, lack of candor is the #1 reason applicants are denied admisison to the bar. Just a little side note...do not use the terms crooked cops when you explain your arrest...you will come across as having a problem with authority and shucking any responsibility for your actions that led to the arrest. yes, there are crooked cops, but the bar examiners aren't investigation them, they are investigating you. so unless you won a civil lawsuit against the cops in your arrest, leave out terms such as crooked.

Hope I've helped.

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