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illegal possesion minor and application

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:17 pm
by bartmann
I am 20 and was leaving a party where the police picked up everyone outside and charged us with illegal possesion as a minor.

I am going to contest this as I did not have any alcohol on me, nor did they test me or anything. It was just a sweep.

This is a civil infraction. I think I can get this disposed of and pay the fine without admitting guild, or I might need to get an attorney to fight to pay nothing, which will cost more, but then possibly there is nothing on record? Not sure yet.

What I am concerned about is the question they ask on the application regarding this. I have only been able to find one law school app so far , all others I looked for have been pulled as it is past the deadline and they are not putting up the next year app until the summer.

Here is the question from UNC. Please let me know if this is the standard question.

"Have you ever received a citation for, been arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or pled guilty, no contest, nolo contendere, enteredan Alford plea, or otherwise accepted responsibility for a crime, or have you received a deferred prosecution or prayer for judgmentcontinued, for any criminal charge other than a minor traffic violation? This would include any charges of driving under the influence orany other drug or alcohol related offenses. (Juvenile records that have been sealed or expunged need not be disclosed.)"

If I read this correctly, it is asking about citation , arrest, charge, conviction etc. for a crime, or criminal charge.

My citation is a civil offense. So I would think that I could answer no to this. I have not registered online yet, so can anyone tell me if this is the question online as well, does it specify crimninal

Re: illegal possesion minor and application

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:22 pm
by Sauer Grapes
Err on the side of caution and tell them about it. They won't care.

Re: illegal possesion minor and application

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:31 pm
by Sangiovese
bartmann wrote:"Have you ever received a citation for, been arrested for, charged with, convicted of, or pled guilty, no contest, nolo contendere, enteredan Alford plea, or otherwise accepted responsibility for a crime, or have you received a deferred prosecution or prayer for judgmentcontinued, for any criminal charge other than a minor traffic violation? This would include any charges of driving under the influence or any other drug or alcohol related offenses. (Juvenile records that have been sealed or expunged need not be disclosed.)"
You need to disclose it.

It won't make any difference in your chances for acceptance, but failing to disclose it could cause you to fail character and fitness for the bar.

It would stink to spend 3 years of your life getting a degree (and the associated debt) that you can't use.

Re: illegal possesion minor and application

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:46 pm
by ApexChaser
Just disclose it. From what the adcoms say, underage alcohol related infractions do not really count against you. Not disclosing is where you'll run into huge problems.

That question should not worry you too much. Some schools even require disclosing traffic violations that exceed $100 (I can't think of a single traffic violation that would be less than $100 in California).

Re: illegal possesion minor and application

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:51 pm
by bartmann
So just say, "was picked up in a sweep for illegal possesion by a minor. Plead not guilty as I did not have any alcohol on my possession. Found not guilty. Case was disposed of."

Anything more than that?

Re: illegal possesion minor and application

Posted: Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:54 pm
by bees
bartmann wrote:So just say, "was picked up in a sweep for illegal possesion by a minor. Plead not guilty as I did not have any alcohol on my possession. Found not guilty. Case was disposed of."

Anything more than that?
Yup, also include the date.