Top Law Schools

HopefullyLaw wrote:I did not steal the documents personally. I received them via the postal service, which I admitted to the police before the arrest.

jtemp320 wrote:

HopefullyLaw wrote:I did not steal the documents personally. I received them via the postal service, which I admitted to the police before the arrest.

Include this- it removes the question of what actions led directly to your arrest which the addendum raises in the readers mind.

I have to say, this addendum may be the rare one that adds something positive to your application - you took a personal risk to expose corruption and successfully did so - if you made any mistakes out of youthful enthusiasm you are willing to admit that but overall the incident reflects positively on you - at least from what you've written.

Good job

HopefullyLaw wrote:Please offer any constructive criticism you have on the below addendum. I have yet to apply to law schools, but will be doing so soon. Thank you for your help.

Addendum
During the summer of 2006, I wrote a news story about corruption in the local police department. With a single-page document provided to me by a confidential source, I completely redacted all confidential information before publishing the material. The police department pressured me to disclose the name of my source, but I felt compelled to withhold the name because the promise I made to keep the individual’s name secret was my burden to bear. I exercised poor judgment when publishing the document even though it was a redacted copy.The police department waited until after I turned eighteen years old and then arrested me with the charge of theft in the fifth degree. Two days after I was arrested and released, the police chief was fired in a public city council meeting. The next month brought the resignation of another police officer that was involved with the corruption. The charge was eventually dropped and the name of my source was kept secret. The county attorney made the application for dismissal of the charge and the county magistrate dismissed the charge.