acquitted of a falsely accused crime Forum

[ptpls]

Hello everyone!

I was falsely accused of a crime on a minor in 2007. There was a two-week trial in 2009 in which I was acquitted. I was blessed to have the best lawyer to defend me. Being in the other side of the law and observing my lawyer perform in court made me interested in pursuing law with the encouragement of my family.

I have three masters degree. I finished the last masters degree online while the case was going on. My GPA in college was 3. I had a couple of Fs in my college transcript. I have not taken LSAT yet.

My question is how will this background affect my chances of going to a good law school?

[irish017]

flame

[whuts4lunch]

if not flame...

This is one of the rare situations where I'd advise getting an admissions consultant. I'd also probably caste a wide net of applications, since there is really no way to know how adcomms will respond, and some may respond more negatively than others.

Wooster: some apps require you to disclose if you have ever been charged with a crime, even if you were acquitted/charges dropped/expunged

[Wooster33]

flame

+1 "I have three masters degree in education."

[NayBoer]

Somebody posted with this same issue last year. Many more details, much longer OP.

[Wooster33]

Wooster: some apps require you to disclose if you have ever been charged with a crime, even if you were acquitted/charges dropped/expunged

True, but most from my recollection say conviction and pending. As I said, he should look at each application.

But I think it's flame.

[motiontodismiss]

You were found not guilty. You're legally innocent and the only record you'll have is an arrest record.

[newyorker88]

You were found not guilty. You're legally innocent and the only record you'll have is an arrest record.

fyi there is no such thing as legally innocent. there is only not guilty in the law which means there was reasonable doubt as to whether you did it or not. not guilty does not equal innocent.

[motiontodismiss]

You were found not guilty. You're legally innocent and the only record you'll have is an arrest record.

fyi there is no such thing as legally innocent. there is only not guilty in the law which means there was reasonable doubt as to whether you did it or not. not guilty does not equal innocent.

Presumption of innocence=innocent until found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt, by a jury of one's peers, in a speedy and public trial. Functionally, not guilty=innocent.

But we're splitting hairs multiple ways here.

[SilverE2]

Do I smell a personal statement? Whatever you do, don't spin this into a "that's how I knew I wanted to be a lawyer" personal statement.

I know it has nothing to do with what you asked, but I thought I would throw it in there.

[pugalicious]

flame

+1 "I have three masters degree in education."

If you are going to be mean, don't be ignorant and mean. Teachers get paid more for more education, so he probably DOES have 3 MA's (likely from online schools/barely-accredited, etc.) in "Education", "Educational Administration", and "Philosophy of Education" or something. These U of Phoenix-type places keep making up new MA degrees and charging just under what the teacher will make in bonuses the year after they get the degree, so it's an instant win for the teacher (as long as the classwork is easy and not time-consuming). Taxpayer $ at work.

Not a great claim to fame, I suppose ("I have 3 fake Master's degrees in the same thing over and over again"), but likely true.

I don't think this guy is a flame. Would being the subject of a false accusation and trial make for a good personal statement (assuming he doesn't go into too much detail about the alleged incident)?

ETA: Just realized that he probably REALLY decided to study law because he can no longer teach...

[newyorker88]

You were found not guilty. You're legally innocent and the only record you'll have is an arrest record.

fyi there is no such thing as legally innocent. there is only not guilty in the law which means there was reasonable doubt as to whether you did it or not. not guilty does not equal innocent.

Presumption of innocence=innocent until found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt, by a jury of one's peers, in a speedy and public trial. Functionally, not guilty=innocent.

.

Not true. Not guilty simply means that there was reasonable doubt not that the person is innocent.

[motiontodismiss]

You were found not guilty. You're legally innocent and the only record you'll have is an arrest record.

fyi there is no such thing as legally innocent. there is only not guilty in the law which means there was reasonable doubt as to whether you did it or not. not guilty does not equal innocent.

Presumption of innocence=innocent until found guilty beyond all reasonable doubt, by a jury of one's peers, in a speedy and public trial. Functionally, not guilty=innocent.

.

Not true. Not guilty simply means that there was reasonable doubt not that the person is innocent.

The prosecution has the burden of proof to prove that the person is guilty and when the prosecution doesn't meet that burden, the accused is found not guilty. As far as the courts are concerned, the accused didn't break any laws.

Let's call it functional innocence then.

[kaydish21]

flame

+1 "I have three masters degree in education."

If you are going to be mean, don't be ignorant and mean. Teachers get paid more for more education, so he probably DOES have 3 MA's (likely from online schools/barely-accredited, etc.) in "Education", "Educational Administration", and "Philosophy of Education" or something. These U of Phoenix-type places keep making up new MA degrees and charging just under what the teacher will make in bonuses the year after they get the degree, so it's an instant win for the teacher (as long as the classwork is easy and not time-consuming). Taxpayer $ at work.

Not a great claim to fame, I suppose ("I have 3 fake Master's degrees in the same thing over and over again"), but likely true.

I don't think this guy is a flame. Would being the subject of a false accusation and trial make for a good personal statement (assuming he doesn't go into too much detail about the alleged incident)?


As a teacher, I thought I would clear up the slight confusion here. Teachers usually get paid more by level of education, not gross amount of education. The pay scale will go up usually with tenure and then again for each higher level of education attained, masters -> phd etc. 3 masters degrees would not make a difference if each was in a separate educational sphere, only if one was an advanced degree beyond the master such as a principal or administrative certification or doctorate course.

Nonetheless I completely agree the OP is less than legitimate.
ETA: Just realized that he probably REALLY decided to study law because he can no longer teach...