Need help with addendum-criminal record Forum

[GoBroncos22!]

Ok, I am really freaking out about this, I am scared that this could be a real issue between me and law school.Ya, this is the bad (or, worst part) of my application proccess-Having to explain why I found myself in some trouble on more than one occcassion. I was never charged with a felony; I have a total of 3 misdemeanors and I would rather not go into details about them on a forum-I will say that they all revolve around alcohol. When writing my addendum, am I supposed to be explaining the entire situation, like details about what happened? Or rather, am I basically saying how I let it happen and what I have done since then to improve? Should I mention that I dont drink anymore or does that sound to sobby and like im looking for sympathy? Should I write a seperate addendum for each incident? How long should they be? Another issue is that the most recent charge wasnt all that long ago, but by the time I start lawschool it will be like a year and a half. Am I just totally effed at this point and should give up on the apps now?

[ajmanyjah]

Not sure, but isn't it fucking stupid for alcohol related (and weed related) offenses to ever count against you. If only we had civilized drug laws...

[GoBroncos22!]

Not sure, but isn't it fucking stupid for alcohol related (and weed related) offenses to ever count against you. If only we had civilized drug laws...

mehh...I would rather all drugs be legal and sold at the local candy shop than alcohol to remain legal for one more day. Its an absolutely vile substance and I intend to stay as far away as possible from it for the rest of my life (if the hangovers didnt do it for me, then the upwards of $20,000 in lawyer fees sure did)

[3ThrowAway99]

I would keep it really short and simple- there may even be a place on your applications to write in an explanation, in which case doing a separate addendum may not be necessary. I think that most, if not all, will require a brief addendum added to the application that explains the nature of your "Yes" response (to have you been convicted..etc).

As long as you just stick to the facts and don't come across as trying to make excuses or minimize your behavior then I think you will be fine in the application process. Indicating that you have learned from your mistakes probably is a good idea, and the longer the time that has passed since the incidents the better. That being said, I doubt this will be 'make or break' for you.

[ajmanyjah]

Not sure, but isn't it fucking stupid for alcohol related (and weed related) offenses to ever count against you. If only we had civilized drug laws...

mehh...I would rather all drugs be legal and sold at the local candy shop than alcohol to remain legal for one more day. Its an absolutely vile substance and I intend to stay as far away as possible from it for the rest of my life (if the hangovers didnt do it for me, then the upwards of $20,000 in lawyer fees sure did)

Yea but what happened when alcohol became illegal...not much, except criminals got rich and poor people got busted for doing something the rich were doing everyday

[Marionberry]

Not sure, but isn't it fucking stupid for alcohol related (and weed related) offenses to ever count against you. If only we had civilized drug laws...

Agreed, our country's outdated laws against drunk driving are draconian and completely arbitrary.

[Kurt Cobain]

Not sure, but isn't it fucking stupid for alcohol related (and weed related) offenses to ever count against you. If only we had civilized drug laws...

Agreed, our country's outdated laws against drunk driving are draconian and completely arbitrary.

Right, the punishments should probably be harsher. Anyone irresponsible enough to drive drunk deserves serious punishment.

[GoBroncos22!]

So before this turns into a discussion about how our alcohol related crimes need change....does anyone else have advice on the addendum part? Will one be sufficient to cover all of them? Should I really be worrying this much about it? By no means am I making excuses but none of my incidents involve anything involving dishonesty, stealing, etc...something would cast a negative light on my character besides that of being an idiot when drunk

[Kurt Cobain]

So before this turns into a discussion about how our alcohol related crimes need change....does anyone else have advice on the addendum part? Will one be sufficient to cover all of them? Should I really be worrying this much about it? By no means am I making excuses but none of my incidents involve anything involving dishonesty, stealing, etc...something would cast a negative light on my character besides that of being an idiot when drunk

If it were me, I would write one addendum explaining that you had legal troubles with alcohol, it was because you were immature, etc., and now yoe've realized how alcohol can had a negative impact on life, so you don't drink. I think a simple explanation like that will suffice.

[Marionberry]

If you can discuss or document any tangible efforts or work done to get your act together, (treatment, 12-step recovery, volunteer work, etc.) it will help tremendously more than just saying "I was immature, but I'm better now and I don't drink."

[GoBroncos22!]

Cool. I will add that in there. Thanks guys

[romothesavior]

mehh...I would rather all drugs be legal and sold at the local candy shop than alcohol to remain legal for one more day. Its an absolutely vile substance and I intend to stay as far away as possible from it for the rest of my life (if the hangovers didnt do it for me, then the upwards of $20,000 in lawyer fees sure did)

Just because you couldn't handle your liquor doesn't mean the rest of us can't handle that "vile substance."

If you can discuss or document any tangible efforts or work done to get your act together, (treatment, 12-step recovery, volunteer work, etc.) it will help tremendously more than just saying "I was immature, but I'm better now and I don't drink."

Credited. Highlight specific steps you've taken to overcome your problem and paint a picture of where you are in your life today.

[rdcws000]

The point is disclosure, not a heart wrenching tale of what drove you to a life of crime. I would use the rule of thumb that the more serious (determined by relevancy to legal practice) the crime, the more explanation you should give.

In other words, if you are a felon guilty of defrauding clients in your past, you better do some serious explanation and soul searching because it is going to hurt you.

If you have alcohol related misdemeanors, I would do nothing more than list them, i.e. (Minor in posession - 2007). Then spend the rest of the addendum just explaining how you have lived a responsible life contributing to society etc. By all means, do not make excuses for your crime.

I don't know this for a fact, but I would imagine law schools care very little about misdemeanors, and the more explaining you do, the dumber you look.

[ajmanyjah]

Not sure, but isn't it fucking stupid for alcohol related (and weed related) offenses to ever count against you. If only we had civilized drug laws...

Agreed, our country's outdated laws against drunk driving are draconian and completely arbitrary.

Alcohol related, not alcohol and driving. Though it certainly needs to be said, cellphone use is 2-5 times worse for driving than alcohol, and is not nearly punished as harshly. And MADD's stats are absolute garbage, because they use an arbitrary percentage to assume any accident that is NOT reported as alcohol related, in fact, is.

[Marionberry]

OP didn't specify, but the majority of "alcohol-related" offenses that prove to be problems for people's admission to LS seems to be DWI. Also, I'm not aware of any other alcohol-related offenses, except for MIP which I really doubt adcomms care about. Or anyone, for that matter.

Maybe OP was drunk and got in a fight in a bar, in which case the offense he was charged with itself was probably not alcohol related, but rather related to asswhuppery. Which I think should impress adcomms.

[ajmanyjah]

OP didn't specify, but the majority of "alcohol-related" offenses that prove to be problems for people's admission to LS seems to be DWI. Also, I'm not aware of any other alcohol-related offenses, except for MIP which I really doubt adcomms care about. Or anyone, for that matter.

Just so people know, there are also Open Container, Public Drunkenness, Disorderly Conduct (usually alcohol related), also overserving laws, public drinking

There are a ton of stupid alcohol related laws we have that serve no purpose other than to enlarge police powers and selective enforcement

The OP didn't specify, which leads me to believe it wasn't DUI/DWI because these are usually considered in their own league

[Patriot1208]

There are a ton of stupid alcohol related laws we have that serve no purpose other than to enlarge police powers and selective enforcement

Yes, exactly why they are law. Good work.

[ajmanyjah]

There are a ton of stupid alcohol related laws we have that serve no purpose other than to enlarge police powers and selective enforcement

Yes, exactly why they are law. Good work.

You need to work on your reading comprehension. Serve a purpose /= intentions.

[Patriot1208]

There are a ton of stupid alcohol related laws we have that serve no purpose other than to enlarge police powers and selective enforcement

Yes, exactly why they are law. Good work.

You need to work on your reading comprehension. Serve a purpose /= intentions.

hmm, well obviously i'm reading into your clear and evident tone, don't try to patronize us by using the "but I didn't explicitly state" argument. Your post was stupid, and that stupidity stemmed from an obvious agenda. End of story.

[Pip]

I would be curious to know if the OP gets into a school or not. I can imagine admissions saying okay a slip up if you have only 1 issue... but 3 would just seem to be too much of a risk.

[Foosters Galore]

I would be curious to know if the OP gets into a school or not. I can imagine admissions saying okay a slip up if you have only 1 issue... but 3 would just seem to be too much of a risk.

I was admitted to my school of choice with 3 alcohol related charges.

[03121202698008]

OP, if you want someone to read your addendum, PM me. I have some time today.

[ajmanyjah]

There are a ton of stupid alcohol related laws we have that serve no purpose other than to enlarge police powers and selective enforcement

Yes, exactly why they are law. Good work.

You need to work on your reading comprehension. Serve a purpose /= intentions.

hmm, well obviously i'm reading into your clear and evident tone, don't try to patronize us by using the "but I didn't explicitly state" argument. Your post was stupid, and that stupidity stemmed from an obvious agenda. End of story.

Yes. My tone. In type. I chose my words carefully. I never made any comment on intentions. But the laws on the books for alcohol related offenses are all stupid as hell. Look at almost all countries without them---they tend to have lower rates of alcoholism AND less alcohol related violence.

My post is only stupid to entitled white boys who never get randomly harassed by the police, and when they do get a charge, they usually get away with little to no hassle.

[GoBroncos22!]

I would be curious to know if the OP gets into a school or not. I can imagine admissions saying okay a slip up if you have only 1 issue... but 3 would just seem to be too much of a risk.

shit dont say that, if I dont get into any school I dont know what I would do at that point. I hope my lsat score helps, being that it is over the 75% mark of all my targets.

[Patriot1208]

Yes, exactly why they are law. Good work.

You need to work on your reading comprehension. Serve a purpose /= intentions.

hmm, well obviously i'm reading into your clear and evident tone, don't try to patronize us by using the "but I didn't explicitly state" argument. Your post was stupid, and that stupidity stemmed from an obvious agenda. End of story.

Yes. My tone. In type. I chose my words carefully. I never made any comment on intentions. But the laws on the books for alcohol related offenses are all stupid as hell. Look at almost all countries without them---they tend to have lower rates of alcoholism AND less alcohol related violence.

My post is only stupid to entitled white boys who never get randomly harassed by the police, and when they do get a charge, they usually get away with little to no hassle.

This post, in fact, tops your last post in the level of stupidity. Now the implication is that alcohol related laws are racist or that enforcement of them is selective purposely to be racist. And your argument to support that is that other countries have lower rates of alcoholism. You are really letting your ugly side shine through aren't you? I would stop before you bury yourself neck deep.