Character and Fitness section Forum

[Easy-E]

I'm currently finishing up an application for Rutgers Newark (I know its extremely late, long story kinda) and I'm stuck at the Character and Fitness section. The instructions are as follows:

Have you ever been charged with, taken into custody for, arrested for, indicted, tried for, pled guilty to, or convicted of, the violation of any law (other than a minor traffic violation) or been the subject of a juvenile delinquent or youthful offender proceeding? (NOTE: The entry of an expungement or sealing order does not relieve you of the duty to disclose the matter on this statement. You may indicate the existence of such an order in your explanation.)

I'm pretty clear on what this means, my problem is I have quite an extensive arrest record. I've never been convicted of anything, but I've been arrested multiple times, most times resulting in charges being dropped for one reason or another. I guess this never really crossed my mind until now, since I've been without legal trouble for a few years, but I'm realizing how bad this might look. The worst part of it is I really can't remember every detail, much less the dates...

So I need to know how should I approach this? Is this going to seriously hurt my application? I was offered a 20k scholly by email, so it seems like they want me there, but I can't deny I've had my share of legal trouble, so much so that I'm concerned I might forget something and wind up looking like I was trying to hide it.

[fatduck]

your lsat score: 169

this thread: 120

[dowu]

You should go to the police/sheriff stations in the city/state you live in, and ask for your arrest records. Then, disclose based on those. You shouldn't miss anything if you acquire said information, assuming you've only been arrested in that state. Good luck!

[Easy-E]

your lsat score: 169

this thread: 120

I don't know if you're implying this a weak attempt at a flame, or just that I'm wasting my score at R-N. Do you really think the score is enough that they won't give a shit about me not disclosing this stuff?

[Easy-E]

You should go to the police/sheriff stations in the city/state you live in, and ask for your arrest records. Then, disclose based on those. You shouldn't miss anything if you acquire said information, assuming you've only been arrested in that state. Good luck!

Makes sense. I spoke with a friend who is now a local police officer and he said they can only pull that stuff up for a law enforcement purpose, but I think that wouldn't apply if I was requesting my own records. Do you think the police station would be the best bet, or the court itself?

[dowu]

You should go to the police/sheriff stations in the city/state you live in, and ask for your arrest records. Then, disclose based on those. You shouldn't miss anything if you acquire said information, assuming you've only been arrested in that state. Good luck!

Makes sense. I spoke with a friend who is now a local police officer and he said they can only pull that stuff up for a law enforcement purpose, but I think that wouldn't apply if I was requesting my own records. Do you think the police station would be the best bet, or the court itself?

Well, if you want to have full knowledge of your past, I would say to visit both. The courts/police will charge a fee for your records, so be prepared for that. They will give you a piece of paper listing your arrests/charges.

Who knows, maybe you will come to find that they only have you down as being detained for some of your arrests. By gathering these documents, you will alleviate the risk of disclosing things that did not need to be disclosed and/or not disclosing the things you should have been disclosed. Hope that helps.

[Easy-E]

You should go to the police/sheriff stations in the city/state you live in, and ask for your arrest records. Then, disclose based on those. You shouldn't miss anything if you acquire said information, assuming you've only been arrested in that state. Good luck!

Makes sense. I spoke with a friend who is now a local police officer and he said they can only pull that stuff up for a law enforcement purpose, but I think that wouldn't apply if I was requesting my own records. Do you think the police station would be the best bet, or the court itself?

Well, if you want to have full knowledge of your past, I would say to visit both. The courts/police will charge a fee for your records, so be prepared for that. They will give you a piece of paper listing your arrests/charges.

Who knows, maybe you will come to find that they only have you down as being detained for some of your arrests. By gathering these documents, you will alleviate the risk of disclosing things that did not need to be disclosed and/or not disclosing the things you should have been disclosed. Hope that helps.

Yeah I guess time is against me here. An opportunity just recently came up that would require me in law school this fall, I only wish I had known about it sooner. The person I contacted at Rutgers has been helpful in expediting the process, but if I know anything about the court system, nothing happens quickly. Thanks for the response.

[dowu]

Yeah I guess time is against me here. An opportunity just recently came up that would require me in law school this fall, I only wish I had known about it sooner. The person I contacted at Rutgers has been helpful in expediting the process, but if I know anything about the court system, nothing happens quickly. Thanks for the response.

No problem. Fortunately, some things happen quickly in the court system, and lucky for you, getting your records is one of them. You can get your records in one day! All that you need to do is fill out a form, and they'll pull your records (they're on the computer) and print them out. Piece of cake!

[North]

You can get your records in one day! All that you need to do is fill out a form, and they'll pull your records (they're on the computer) and print them out. Piece of cake!

This is true.

Source: it's my job. Clerks of Court FTW.

[Easy-E]

Yeah I guess time is against me here. An opportunity just recently came up that would require me in law school this fall, I only wish I had known about it sooner. The person I contacted at Rutgers has been helpful in expediting the process, but if I know anything about the court system, nothing happens quickly. Thanks for the response.

No problem. Fortunately, some things happen quickly in the court system, and lucky for you, getting your records is one of them. You can get your records in one day! All that you need to do is fill out a form, and they'll pull your records (they're on the computer) and print them out. Piece of cake!

You can get your records in one day! All that you need to do is fill out a form, and they'll pull your records (they're on the computer) and print them out. Piece of cake!

This is true.

Source: it's my job. Clerks of Court FTW.

Oh wow, that's great news. I assume I need to go the county clerks office then? Or the county courthouse?

[North]

If that's the only county you were ever arrested in, then yeah, that should do it. In my county, the Clerk operates out of the County Courthouse. Google/a phonecall to the Clerks office can probably tell you if that's the case where you live.

[Easy-E]

If that's the only county you were ever arrested in, then yeah, that should do it. In my county, the Clerk operates out of the County Courthouse. Google/a phonecall to the Clerks office can probably tell you if that's the case where you live.

Yeah, just one county fortunately. I'll call first thing in the morning, thanks for the information.

[Easy-E]

Just as an update, turned out I need to go around to each municipal court in which I was arrested, many of which have since merged with others due to budget needs. Needless to say, it was a fun day. One of the courts in which I was arrested as a minor didn't have any idea where their records even were. I think I got most of it though.



Should I even be including something that happened as a minor?

[dowu]

Just as an update, turned out I need to go around to each municipal court in which I was arrested, many of which have since merged with others due to budget needs. Needless to say, it was a fun day. One of the courts in which I was arrested as a minor didn't have any idea where their records even were. I think I got most of it though.



Should I even be including something that happened as a minor?

You'll have to check and see what the application states you need to disclose.

Also, you can fill out the paperwork to have your records (as a minor) destroyed, if the judge deems it appropriate. You should probably look into that so that you won't have to disclose the fact that in 9th grade you stole from Wal-Mart.

[Easy-E]

Just as an update, turned out I need to go around to each municipal court in which I was arrested, many of which have since merged with others due to budget needs. Needless to say, it was a fun day. One of the courts in which I was arrested as a minor didn't have any idea where their records even were. I think I got most of it though.



Should I even be including something that happened as a minor?

You'll have to check and see what the application states you need to disclose.

Also, you can fill out the paperwork to have your records (as a minor) destroyed, if the judge deems it appropriate. You should probably look into that so that you won't have to disclose the fact that in 9th grade you stole from Wal-Mart.

Great, now I have to kill you.