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The prevailing wisdom seems to be to release the information to LSAC now instead of not mentioning it and risking them later finding out about it.

I'd consult the specific policy of each school to which you are applying; if, in that case, it is still not clear, I'd ask a lawyer.

bump.

please help!

I'm copying and pasting my post from another thread below. Do the addendum. This arrest is 4 years old (correct?). If you write an addendum about how it was a boneheaded youthful mistake that you take very seriously and have learned from; I really don't think it will keep you out of most LSs.

My post from the other thread Re: C&F:

I'm a practicing attorney in NYC, graduated LS in 2008. If you're inquiry involves dissecting the language of the C&F question to determine if you must disclose something; you're fucking doing it wrong brah.

The point of the C&F exercise (both pre-LS and pre-bar-admission), is not to exclude people for what are, usually, trivial "crimes." Hell, even some serious crimes can be explained away. As long as you aren't talking about a crime that shows a lack of moral sensibility, (i.e. crimes involving “moral turpitude”) such as theft, fraud, etc., or seriously violent crimes, or a pattern of criminal activity that shows a lack of respect for the law, etc., the chances of you not gaining admission to LS or the bar for that matter are slim, even with some small infractions on your record.

What might trip you up is getting called out for not disclosing criminal activity when asked. Bar examiners can request your criminal background and also your law school transcript. What they are looking for is to see if you failed to report relevant information when applying to LS because that shows a true lack of integrity because the chance of getting caught is pretty low (LS are not doing background checks). Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching and that’s what C&F is about.

So in sum, when in doubt – report. This is not the time to show off your statutory interpretation skills, it’s the time to be honest.

The addendum can really be as short as your post asking about it.

I did this. Here is what happened. This is how I corrected it.

A little more detail, but that is about it.