Do I need to include a Character and Fitness report? Forum

[Anonymous User]

When I was 17 I got into a physical altercation with a schoolmate at a public park and was given a citation by a police officer. We were both asked to appear in court, and I was put on probation (I think) for 6 months and asked to complete 30 hours of community service. Once I did this, my record was expunged.

Since it was taken off my record, would a C&F be necessary? And if so, what would I write?

[cinephile]

Write what you just wrote.

Yes, they normally say they want expunged offenses.

[lakers24fan]

Would this be okay to put, if this is what I wrote verbatim?:

"In March 2008 in [City, State], at the age of 17, I got into a physical altercation with a high school classmate at a public park and was given a citation by a police officer. We were both asked to appear in court, and I was put on probation for 6 months and asked to complete 30 hours of community service. Once the 6 months passed without incident and I completed the community service, my record was expunged."

I guess I'm just concerned about lack of detail; for example, do I need to be more specific about the fact that I "was given a citation"?

[cinephile]

Would this be okay to put, if this is what I wrote verbatim?:

"In March 2008 in [City, State], at the age of 17, I got into a physical altercation with a high school classmate at a public park and was given a citation by a police officer. We were both asked to appear in court, and I was put on probation for 6 months and asked to complete 30 hours of community service. Once the 6 months passed without incident and I completed the community service, my record was expunged."

I guess I'm just concerned about lack of detail; for example, do I need to be more specific about the fact that I "was given a citation"?

I didn't have a criminal citation, but I had something from my school and I gave the facts as best I remembered them. It was vague because I didn't have documentation and I stated that - no paperwork is available from the university, but from what I recall in the fall of 200x, ...

Law schools didn't have an issue with it. We'll see if the state bar does, but I doubt it. I spoke truthfully, and the university really doesn't have anything on file for me so there's nothing else I can do.

[lakers24fan]

Would this be okay to put, if this is what I wrote verbatim?:

"In March 2008 in [City, State], at the age of 17, I got into a physical altercation with a high school classmate at a public park and was given a citation by a police officer. We were both asked to appear in court, and I was put on probation for 6 months and asked to complete 30 hours of community service. Once the 6 months passed without incident and I completed the community service, my record was expunged."

I guess I'm just concerned about lack of detail; for example, do I need to be more specific about the fact that I "was given a citation"?

I didn't have a criminal citation, but I had something from my school and I gave the facts as best I remembered them. It was vague because I didn't have documentation and I stated that - no paperwork is available from the university, but from what I recall in the fall of 200x, ...

Law schools didn't have an issue with it. We'll see if the state bar does, but I doubt it. I spoke truthfully, and the university really doesn't have anything on file for me so there's nothing else I can do.

Hmm... see, I don't even know if there's any documentation available for the citation I received. So I guess I could just leave it as is?

[Anonymous User]

bump

[fruitoftheloom]

Just leave it as it is. If the school needs you to obtain documentation regarding the expungement or offense, they will usually admit you and just send you a letter saying that you need to get them documentation (or proof that you tried to obtain documentation) before the first day of class. I think it's school by school (or state by state) as to whether they need documentation before you can officially start/enroll or not.

[thelawschoolproject]

I guess I'm just concerned about lack of detail; for example, do I need to be more specific about the fact that I "was given a citation"?

Short, simple, and straight to the point is the best way to go with these things. Otherwise, you may run into the problem of making excuses for the incident and that's not going to benefit you.