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Hello,

I am a junior at OU and I am most likely looking into law school here as well. 3.5+ GPA, taking the LSAT in October and I'm contemplating on whether or not to disclose some of the things in my past when I reach that bridge. I have already read most of the advice on here and everyone says to disclose every possible discrepancy that may come up and bite me later. I am running into a potential issue with how I am to disclose the things in which I cannot find any record of, though.

February 2010 - larceny of merchandise from a retailer (my sister decided she wanted to steal a bottle of perfume from a walmart, I was present and did not stop her, so I was arrested in concert with her). Received a deferred sentence, case was dismissed.

*unsure of exact date* - Public intoxication - (Pulled over trying to pick a friend up from a party, admitted I had a sip of beer) - deferred sentence and dismissed.

July 2010 - DUI under 21 (Wrecked my vehicle driving home from a party. This was undoubtedly my wake-up call and changed my behavior drastically since then.) Deferred sentence, record doesn't show it was dismissed yet, but I completed all of the requirements. Calling my attorney this week to have that done and have all records officially expunged.

July 2013 - Indecent exposure ( I was at my friend's apartment for her birthday, lost a bet and was told to go jump in the apartment's pool naked. I did it, got out of the water and put on my pants and then the cop shined his light at me.) *municipal charge. Not reported to OSBI. Paid the fine, received a deferred sentence, case was dismissed* Also, I called the clerks office and asked if I needed to list that on criminal history questions for job applications and they said that the only way anyone could ever see it was if someone personally came to the clerks office and requested to see the record(which would reflect the arrest, my plea, and that it was dismissed)

I have looked myself up on all of the public records sites as well as had my criminal history report sent to me from OSBI. Oddly enough, I found that the only thing OSBI shows is the larceny charge. However, the public court records site only shows the DUI. Does this reflect how much I should disclose on the C&F question?

I come from a very rough, underprivileged background, and have overcome an enormous amount of adversity to be where I am today. I'm not saying that coming from a very poor family and having little to no supervision is why this all happened, but I do believe that the odds were certainly stacked against me during the bulk of it. I have matured an enormous amount in the past several years and I know that those childish mistakes are not a reflection of the person I am today.

So, any advice would be appreciated.

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Its all about the phrasing of the application...

Arrests are arrests, charges are charges, and convictions are convictions. A lack of records doesn't change whether any of these things happened, and lying about it is potential grounds for being disbarred. If you can't recall the public intoxication charge, try to pin it down to a season and a year.

On the bright side, some schools do not require you disclose expunged matters.

You already know the answer of what you SHOULD do, you're asking what we think you can get away with.

You could put 10 years into your legal career, $250,000 possibly, and your hopes and dreams. Then, some random jerk could find your record. You could lose your degree, your job, and never practice again. Or, you could be honest, sincere, and get in based on who you actually are. Impoverished background or not, you committed the crimes.

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okla0lprospect wrote: the public court records site only shows the DUI. Does this reflect how much I should disclose on the C&F question?
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You should just disclose everything with an addendum that explains the situation (dont make excuses just say what happened) and how sorry you are and how much you have learned since. While not disclosing might seem tempting to boost your admissions probability, In the end, there is nothing worse that the BAR finding out that you didn't disclose. While your C&F issues might slightly affect you, it will not make as large of a difference as you think.