Thank you - please delete Forum

[just8250]

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[wert3813]

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[TripTrip]

In 1997 I was charged with two felonies: car larceny and receiving stolen property $0 - $100. I voluntarily admitted guilt to the police and was granted Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (HYTA) status. As part of my plea and HYTA status, I was placed on monthly probation, was subjected to monthly drug tests, and was assigned 50 hours of community service in addition to restitution. After the successful completion of these requirements, my guilty plea was deferred, charges were dismissed and my record sealed.

Add on from here.

[Xs20]

You might also want to include details of the events leading up to the crime, i.e. what actually happened that day besides you getting charged and pleading guilty. I sent in an addendum written like yours (for a misdemeanor), and a few schools emailed me to ask for more detail about what I actually did.

From Sarah Zearfoss's blog (assistant dean of admissions at Michigan):

[...]all schools ask that a "yes" answer be followed up with "details." What we mean is—what did you do? We want the story, the narrative—not a citation to the section of the state code you violated. I mean, you're welcome to provide that too, but if that's all you provide, you're missing the point, and you end up sounding defensive and evasive. Tell me, "In my first year of college, on the second day of orientation, I went to a fraternity party with everyone on my floor. They served beer, and I drank it. When I left the fraternity house, I walked straight into the arms of the local police, who were waiting for naïfs like myself. In retrospect, attending that party was monumentally poor decisionmaking on my part. I pleaded guilty, did yada yada yada in the way of punishment, and learned several important lessons." Telling me, "On August 25, 2009, I was charged with violation of Section 436.170 under the Michigan Liquor Control Code of 1998, Purchase, consumption, or possession of alcoholic liquor by minor. I pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to blah blah blah as punishment, and have had no prior criminal convictions since that time," is not telling me anything particularly illuminating.

[fruitoftheloom]

Op- Past tense of plead is pleaded. Pled is improper. Fix that.

[just8250]

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[criminaltheory]

Thank you all, I feel like your advice is correct and I should have a detailed account for the crime itself. To Xs20 post from Sarah Zearfoss and anyone else who wishes to comment, what is the best way to include the details?

Woah, hang on. "Include details" does not mean "a detailed account."

All I think you need is to insert a brief sentence after the first that explains what was meant by the charges from the first sentence. Something about driving around stealing items from unlocked cars with a group of others seems to be the gist of it. Don't overshare when its not necessary.

[just8250]

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[Lawhelpneeded2013]

This is my opinion as I have not had to submit a C & F for a felony. I am sure others with experience will also comment on this but first I would include the month of the charge, and your age. As others on different threads and yours have mentioned, I would elaborate on how you changed as a result. What type of community service have you regular volunteered for? Why will this not happen again?