unique criminal record- still a shot? Forum

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havana daydreamin

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unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by havana daydreamin » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:00 pm

Doing some research on postings on criminal records and chances of getting admitted to law school...I really don't know who to ask about my certain situation, so hopefully I can get some honest and helpful answers from you guys. I've seen a few posts about past DUIs, possession, etc, but mine is unfortunately a unique situation.

Long story short, in 2007 I got arrested for a felony assault on an officer charge along with a misdemeanor resisting arrest (same incident). i ended up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge with deferred adjudication (yeah, good lawyer). i successfully completed all my community service, AA meetings (was drunk at the time), probation, etc. and I've never had anything on my record before or since. not a day goes by where i don't regret it. but i don't want pity, i want answers! so...

I have a 3.0/161.

Two questions- a-do i have a chance at any top 100 schools? b- do i mention the above incident on my law school app (using an addendum and/or PS)?

thanks for the help in advance.

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jennylynn

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by jennylynn » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:03 pm

You're going to have to disclose it. But don't bring more attention to it than necessary.

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StrictlyLiable

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by StrictlyLiable » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:07 pm

You would have a "weak" to "consider" on some top 100 schools given your numbers on lawschoolpredictor, but with your record it makes it unpredictable. If you look at lawschoolnumbers and see a "denied" around several "accepted", you'll come to find out that they probably have a criminal record of some sort. I'm not exactly sure if it should be included in your PS but I would definitely disclose it. Sorry.

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gwuorbust

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by gwuorbust » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:47 pm

even if they will look past it you need to retake. your not going to get into worthwhile schools with a 3.0/161. retake, write addendum and see what happens.

shoop

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by shoop » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:33 am

havana daydreamin wrote:Doing some research on postings on criminal records and chances of getting admitted to law school...I really don't know who to ask about my certain situation, so hopefully I can get some honest and helpful answers from you guys. I've seen a few posts about past DUIs, possession, etc, but mine is unfortunately a unique situation.

Long story short, in 2007 I got arrested for a felony assault on an officer charge along with a misdemeanor resisting arrest (same incident). i ended up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge with deferred adjudication (yeah, good lawyer). i successfully completed all my community service, AA meetings (was drunk at the time), probation, etc. and I've never had anything on my record before or since. not a day goes by where i don't regret it. but i don't want pity, i want answers! so...

I have a 3.0/161.

Two questions- a-do i have a chance at any top 100 schools? b- do i mention the above incident on my law school app (using an addendum and/or PS)?

thanks for the help in advance.
Many, many drunken idiots get charged with the exact same stuff every single day and many of them probably get off as lightly as you if it's a first offense and they have a good lawyer, so I'm not seeing anything "unique" about your criminal record. Maybe you're a little unique for thinking you'll still go to a decent law school with "meh" numbers and said criminal record, but that's about it. When I read your post title, I was totally expecting some sort of Robin Hood shit or maybe a crime committed in the course of protecting a loved one or while making a stand for something you feel passionately about, not flailing out on a cop while drunk.

Retake, disclose, cross fingers. Good luck.

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CG614

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by CG614 » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:45 am

unique criminal record: good soft?

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paratactical

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by paratactical » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:48 am

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Last edited by paratactical on Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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CG614

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by CG614 » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:50 am

paratactical wrote:
CG614 wrote:unique criminal record: good soft?
My conviction for gun smuggling turned my life around. Now I want to represent Smith & Wesson. Should I focus my PS on this?
I was thinking more along the lines of "I got arrested for vandalism at MIT, but really I was just trying to solve a quantum physics equation"

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paratactical

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by paratactical » Thu Jul 08, 2010 10:51 am

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Last edited by paratactical on Wed Feb 13, 2013 9:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

havana daydreamin

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Re: unique criminal record- still a shot?

Post by havana daydreamin » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:48 pm

shoop wrote:
havana daydreamin wrote:Doing some research on postings on criminal records and chances of getting admitted to law school...I really don't know who to ask about my certain situation, so hopefully I can get some honest and helpful answers from you guys. I've seen a few posts about past DUIs, possession, etc, but mine is unfortunately a unique situation.

Long story short, in 2007 I got arrested for a felony assault on an officer charge along with a misdemeanor resisting arrest (same incident). i ended up pleading no contest to a misdemeanor assault charge with deferred adjudication (yeah, good lawyer). i successfully completed all my community service, AA meetings (was drunk at the time), probation, etc. and I've never had anything on my record before or since. not a day goes by where i don't regret it. but i don't want pity, i want answers! so...

I have a 3.0/161.

Two questions- a-do i have a chance at any top 100 schools? b- do i mention the above incident on my law school app (using an addendum and/or PS)?

thanks for the help in advance.
Many, many drunken idiots get charged with the exact same stuff every single day and many of them probably get off as lightly as you if it's a first offense and they have a good lawyer, so I'm not seeing anything "unique" about your criminal record. Maybe you're a little unique for thinking you'll still go to a decent law school with "meh" numbers and said criminal record, but that's about it. When I read your post title, I was totally expecting some sort of Robin Hood shit or maybe a crime committed in the course of protecting a loved one or while making a stand for something you feel passionately about, not flailing out on a cop while drunk.

Retake, disclose, cross fingers. Good luck.
I didn't mean unique in the "i was wrongly arrested" way, i meant it in the "it's not the a standard DUI that most criminal charge posts i've read are about" way. trust me, i wish there was some sort of silver lining, but unfortunately, i just lost control and turned a bad situation into the worst one possible.

i appreciate your guys advice, although to be honest i don't know if I can really do better than a 161. but i do realize that it really can't hurt to retake. as for disclosing when I do apply, do you think I should reference the incident at all in my PS? or just attach an addendum and try to explain how i've distanced myself from the event, etc?

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