Character & Fitness Addendum (misdemeanor-2 separate occasions) Forum

[The Patriot12]

I have received three misdemeanors on two separate occasions. A Minor in Consumption and Minor in Possession of Alcohol together, and a Public Intoxication at a different time. Wanting to include both occurrences, my addendum is a little long at 1 & 1/3 pages. Is this okay to do to ensure that I explain both? I cannot find anymore excess information to cut down. Here is my addendum, any advice/feedback is greatly appreciated.
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Character and Fitness Addendum

I have been cited three times for alcohol related infractions. The first two took place simultaneously on October 7, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas when I was charged with Minor in Consumption of Alcohol and Minor in Possession of Alcohol. The third occurred on December 31, 2011 in Sharyland, Texas when I received a citation for Public Intoxication as a minor. All three offenses are class C misdemeanors in the state of Texas. I pled guilty to each charge, paid two fines of $175, as my attorney had the Minor in Possession dismissed, took, and passed, an alcohol education course, and had all offenses expunged from my record.

Regarding the infractions in October six years ago, the incident transpired as my sober driver swerved to take the necessary exit for a fraternity brother's birthday celebration. Upon being pulled over, the officer asked to see everyone's identification, subsequently telling me to step out of the car to be administered a sobriety test. Afterward, he found alcohol in the back that I was oblivious to, as I was sitting in the front seat. While it was not my alcohol, and I had not been driving, that did not excuse me from knowingly drinking underage. This incident has led me to adamantly follow a no alcohol policy while in a vehicle to ensure the safety of myself and all other passengers; a small but notable move in the right direction.

As for the Public Intoxication charge on New Years Eve five years ago, the event unfolded after I decided to leave a wedding reception to buy cigarettes. While I walked down the street, the police stopped to ask me where I was coming from. I told them I was a guest at a wedding function down the road, and they agreed to drive me back. When we arrived, I could not find my friend, so an attorney in attendance told the officers he did not know who I was, to avoid causing problems during the party. Consequently, I was arrested and taken to jail. Although I was not driving, I should not have left the safety of the party. This situation exemplified how alcohol can cause an intelligent person to make poor decisions. Since that night I have become more aware of my surroundings, making it a point to avoid further occurrences such as this.

While bother of these incidents arose due to choices I made when I was underage and immature, they have molded me into the cautious and vigilant man I am today. Through completion of my alcohol education course, and as a matured adult, I have vowed to always drink responsibly and have not received any alcohol related citations in the past five years.

[Lawcat11]

It's a little long. I think the last paragraph is not necessary- the "cautious and vigilant man" part is a little artificial. Also, clean up your grammar in the first paragraph- as it now reads it sounds like your attorney took and passed your courses for you.

[The Patriot12]

I made revisions based on your advice and got it down to 1 page with no room to spare. Here is the revised edition. Will this edition be sufficient for law school admission committees?
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Character and Fitness Addendum

I have been cited three times for alcohol related infractions. The first two took place simultaneously on October 7, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas when I was charged with Minor in Consumption and Minor in Possession of Alcohol. The third occurred on December 31, 2011 in Sharyland, Texas when I received a citation for Public Intoxication as a minor. All three offenses are class C misdemeanors in the state of Texas. I pled guilty to each charge, paid two fines of $175, due to the dismissal of the Minor in Possession by my attorney, took, and passed, an alcohol education course, and had all offenses expunged from my record.

Regarding the two infractions in October, the incident transpired as my sober driver swerved to exit for our destination. Upon being pulled over, the officer asked to see my identification, subsequently telling me to step out of the car to be administered a sobriety test. Afterward, he found alcohol in the back seat. While it was not my alcohol, and I had not been driving, that did not excuse me from knowingly drinking underage. This event has led me to follow a no alcohol in the vehicle policy to ensure the safety of myself and all other passengers.

The Public Intoxication charge took place after I decided to leave a wedding reception to buy cigarettes. As I walked down the street, the police stopped me to ask where I was coming from. I told them I was a guest at a wedding function down the road, and they agreed to drive me back. When we arrived I could not find my friend, so a lawyer attending told the officers he did not know who I was. Consequently, I was arrested. Although I was not driving, this situation exemplified how alcohol can cause an intelligent person to make poor decisions.

Through completion of my alcohol education, and as a matured adult, I have vowed to always drink responsibly and have not received an alcohol related citation in the past five years.

[Alive97]

That second story is bizarre as hell lol. I could be wrong but my inclination would be to spend less time telling all the details of the events and more time telling what you learned and how you have grown. I don't think all that detail is needed. You need to take responsibility explicitly and discuss this in terms of yourself. Saying you won't have alcohol in the car anymore is not enough because it's a given.

[rpupkin]

The Public Intoxication charge took place after I decided to leave a wedding reception to buy cigarettes. As I walked down the street, the police stopped me to ask where I was coming from. I told them I was a guest at a wedding function down the road, and they agreed to drive me back. When we arrived I could not find my friend, so a lawyer attending told the officers he did not know who I was. Consequently, I was arrested. Although I was not driving, this situation exemplified how alcohol can cause an intelligent person to make poor decisions.

LOL. What was the "poor decision"? Buying cigarettes? Attending a wedding that apparently employed a lawyer as a bouncer?

I agree with the poster above: a simple "I was cited for Public Intoxication as a minor" is sufficient.

[rinkrat19]

This addendum should be like 2-3 paragraphs max. No description of the incidents, no excuses/explanations, no pearl-clutching and hand-wringing. Just "On date X, I was cited for Y. On date A, I was cited for B. From these incidents, I learned better decision-making. The end." Although, if your incidents are less than a year ago, I'd leave off the "lesson learned" part because they're not far enough in the rearview for you to claim that you've learned anything. Just trust that they were minor incidents and adcoms don't actually give a shit about a couple of MIPs as long as you disclose.

[The Patriot12]

Okay, I tried to compile all of your feedback and revise it down to 2/3 of a page. Is this version better?
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Character and Fitness Addendum

I have been cited three times for alcohol related infractions. The first two took place simultaneously on October 7, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas when my sober driver was pulled over for swerving in between lanes. I was charged with Minor in Consumption and Minor in Possession of Alcohol for drinking and being in the presence of alcohol underage. The third occurred on December 31, 2011 in Sharyland, Texas after I left a wedding reception to go to a convenient store. I was arrested and received a citation for Public Intoxication as a minor for walking down the street after drinking. All three offenses are class C misdemeanors in the state of Texas. I pled guilty to each charge, paid two fines of $175, due to the dismissal of the Minor in Possession by my attorney, took, and passed, an alcohol education course, and had all offenses expunged from my record.

Although I was young and immature at the time, that did not excuse me from knowingly drinking underage. From these incidents I now understand the significance of obeying the law and have learned to make better choices. While I cannot change these decisions I made as a minor, the ramifications of each have molded me into the responsible man I am today. Through completion of my alcohol education course, and as a matured adult, I have made it a point to live my life responsibly, which has helped ensure that my record has remained clean ever since.

[Lawcat11]

I think it's much better, although you should change convenient store to convenience store.

[rpupkin]

I can't help it. Edits inline below.

Okay, I tried to compile all of your feedback and revise it down to 2/3 of a page. Is this version better?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Character and Fitness Addendum

I have been cited three times for alcohol related infractions. The first two took place simultaneously on October 7, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas when my sober driver was pulled over for swerving in between lanes. I was charged with Minor in Consumption and Minor in Possession of Alcohol for drinking and being in the presence of alcohol underage. The third occurred on December 31, 2011 in Sharyland, Texas after I left a wedding reception to go to a convenience store. I was arrested and received a citation for Public Intoxication as a minor for walking down the street after drinking. All three offenses are class C misdemeanors in the state of Texas.

The Minor in Possession of Alcohol charge was dismissed. I pled guilty to each the other two charges,. I paid two fines of $175, due to the dismissal of the Minor in Possession by my attorney, and took, and passed, an alcohol education course. , and had All offenses were expunged from my record.

Although I was young and immature at the time, that did not excuse my conduct. me from knowingly drinking underage. From these incidents I now understand the significance of obeying the law and have learned to make better choices. While I cannot change these decisions I made as a minor, the ramifications of each have molded me into the responsible man I am today. Through After completion of my the alcohol education course,and as a matured adult, I have made it a point only to consume alcohol responsibly, lawfully, and in moderation. live my life responsibly, which has helped ensure that my record has remained clean ever since.

[SPerez]

This addendum should be like 2-3 paragraphs max. No description of the incidents, no excuses/explanations, no pearl-clutching and hand-wringing. Just "On date X, I was cited for Y. On date A, I was cited for B. From these incidents, I learned better decision-making. The end." Although, if your incidents are less than a year ago, I'd leave off the "lesson learned" part because they're not far enough in the rearview for you to claim that you've learned anything. Just trust that they were minor incidents and adcoms don't actually give a shit about a couple of MIPs as long as you disclose.

I advise against the "just the facts" disclosures because, as an adcom, those details are pretty important. The charges themselves often don't tell the whole story due to plea agreements (e.g. DWI becoming Obstructing a Roadway), leaving us having to do a lot of guessing as to what the applicants actions actually were.

In general, I would say 1.5 pages is a bit long, but reading what you wrote didn't seem all that long to me. The second thing does sound weird, like there's a lot more to the story you're leaving out. But I wouldn't add more. The detail that the person who said he didn't know you was an attorney is an irrelevant fact to us (though, I'm guessing not to you; I'm from the RGV, too, so I'm assuming that attorney knew the cops and that's why they talked to him in the first place?). Maybe something about how you didn't know anyone at the wedding (apparently) except your friend would make why they arrested you make more sense.

But that's just nit-picking, really. Your second effort would be just fine for me.

Dean Perez
Texas Tech Law