Character and Fitness Investigation Forum

[TLSLAW453]

I have two charges one that is for petty theft from years ago and another one from 2 years ago for possession of alcohol as a minor. The first one I went through a juvenile arbitration program and the second one was dropped. I know these two charges are minor but the facts of the second one have me worried. When the officer asked me when I was born I lied and said the wrong year so that I'd appear to be 21 (stupid, I know). She then later went on her radio and verified that I was 20. She told me I have one more chance to tell her my real birth date and I did. This is all reflected on the police report which I am guessing the Florida Bar will read during my investigation.

I called the Board of Bar Examiners and the man said that there is no exact answer and to check online the requirements for passing the investigation. Not much help at all. So my question is do you think this is a serious enough issue to constitute a meeting before the examiners? Should I be worried? Also, I did not give such a detailed explanation on my law school application I left out the part about lying to the officer.

[isayixnayhearsay]

disclose it, brah

[TLSLAW453]

disclose it, brah

Disclose it to my law school as well as the Bar?

[roofles]

disclose it, brah

Disclose it to my law school as well as the Bar?

Yes. They will verify the info you submitted in your law school applications, so avoid any issues now by disclosing.

[sjwest]

disclose it, brah

Disclose it to my law school as well as the Bar?

Yes. They will verify the info you submitted in your law school applications, so avoid any issues now by disclosing.

+1 don't let them find out on their own, that tells them you're still lying about it.

[AVBucks4239]

Disclose everything. They care infinitely more about what you don't tell them than what you do.

[TLSLAW453]

Disclose everything. They care infinitely more about what you don't tell them than what you do.

Ok I can still disclose it once I've started law school in August right? Do you think this issue could cause me denial from the Bar or anything? Probably a dumb question but I'm just being over cautious.

[NotMyRealName09]

Provide a more detailed narrative of your conviction now, don't wait.

[PaulKriske]

I have two charges one that is for petty theft from years ago and another one from 2 years ago for possession of alcohol as a minor. The first one I went through a juvenile arbitration program and the second one was dropped. I know these two charges are minor but the facts of the second one have me worried. When the officer asked me when I was born I lied and said the wrong year so that I'd appear to be 21 (stupid, I know). She then later went on her radio and verified that I was 20. She told me I have one more chance to tell her my real birth date and I did. This is all reflected on the police report which I am guessing the Florida Bar will read during my investigation.

I called the Board of Bar Examiners and the man said that there is no exact answer and to check online the requirements for passing the investigation. Not much help at all. So my question is do you think this is a serious enough issue to constitute a meeting before the examiners? Should I be worried? Also, I did not give such a detailed explanation on my law school application I left out the part about lying to the officer.

disclose now, and you better have a good reason for lying on your app.

this could prevent you from ever being able to practice. but, seeing how you handled the C&F disclosure portion of the app, maybe that's for the best.

[TLSLAW453]

I have two charges one that is for petty theft from years ago and another one from 2 years ago for possession of alcohol as a minor. The first one I went through a juvenile arbitration program and the second one was dropped. I know these two charges are minor but the facts of the second one have me worried. When the officer asked me when I was born I lied and said the wrong year so that I'd appear to be 21 (stupid, I know). She then later went on her radio and verified that I was 20. She told me I have one more chance to tell her my real birth date and I did. This is all reflected on the police report which I am guessing the Florida Bar will read during my investigation.

I called the Board of Bar Examiners and the man said that there is no exact answer and to check online the requirements for passing the investigation. Not much help at all. So my question is do you think this is a serious enough issue to constitute a meeting before the examiners? Should I be worried? Also, I did not give such a detailed explanation on my law school application I left out the part about lying to the officer.

disclose now, and you better have a good reason for lying on your app.

this could prevent you from ever being able to practice. but, seeing how you handled the C&F disclosure portion of the app, maybe that's for the best.

It's not a conviction and I didn't lie on my app. I said I was caught with a beer and due to the fact that I was 20 years old I received a written arrest, which all is true. Can the law school withdraw my acceptance if I tell them this now before school starts?

[PaulKriske]

I did not give such a detailed explanation on my law school application I left out the part about lying to the officer.

knowingly omitting information from your C&F disclosure statement is akin to lying. HTH.

[PaulKriske]

I have two charges one that is for petty theft from years ago and another one from 2 years ago for possession of alcohol as a minor. The first one I went through a juvenile arbitration program and the second one was dropped. I know these two charges are minor but the facts of the second one have me worried. When the officer asked me when I was born I lied and said the wrong year so that I'd appear to be 21 (stupid, I know). She then later went on her radio and verified that I was 20. She told me I have one more chance to tell her my real birth date and I did. This is all reflected on the police report which I am guessing the Florida Bar will read during my investigation.

I called the Board of Bar Examiners and the man said that there is no exact answer and to check online the requirements for passing the investigation. Not much help at all. So my question is do you think this is a serious enough issue to constitute a meeting before the examiners? Should I be worried? Also, I did not give such a detailed explanation on my law school application I left out the part about lying to the officer.

disclose now, and you better have a good reason for lying on your app.

this could prevent you from ever being able to practice. but, seeing how you handled the C&F disclosure portion of the app, maybe that's for the best.

It's not a conviction and I didn't lie on my app. I said I was caught with a beer and due to the fact that I was 20 years old I received a written arrest, which all is true. Can the law school withdraw my acceptance if I tell them this now before school starts?

your best bet is to come completely clean in a formal letter and get a statement from your point of contact with the police or school or whatever attesting to the story and the outcome. the school can withdraw, but that's completely up to them.

[TLSLAW453]

I have two charges one that is for petty theft from years ago and another one from 2 years ago for possession of alcohol as a minor. The first one I went through a juvenile arbitration program and the second one was dropped. I know these two charges are minor but the facts of the second one have me worried. When the officer asked me when I was born I lied and said the wrong year so that I'd appear to be 21 (stupid, I know). She then later went on her radio and verified that I was 20. She told me I have one more chance to tell her my real birth date and I did. This is all reflected on the police report which I am guessing the Florida Bar will read during my investigation.

I called the Board of Bar Examiners and the man said that there is no exact answer and to check online the requirements for passing the investigation. Not much help at all. So my question is do you think this is a serious enough issue to constitute a meeting before the examiners? Should I be worried? Also, I did not give such a detailed explanation on my law school application I left out the part about lying to the officer.

disclose now, and you better have a good reason for lying on your app.

this could prevent you from ever being able to practice. but, seeing how you handled the C&F disclosure portion of the app, maybe that's for the best.

It's not a conviction and I didn't lie on my app. I said I was caught with a beer and due to the fact that I was 20 years old I received a written arrest, which all is true. Can the law school withdraw my acceptance if I tell them this now before school starts?

your best bet is to come completely clean in a formal letter and get a statement from your point of contact with the police or school or whatever attesting to the story and the outcome. the school can withdraw, but that's completely up to them.

A statement from the police saying what? Would sending the law school a copy of the police report be sufficient?

[Lawst]

During our orientation, the dean of students gave us an opportunity to amend our applications - basically if there was anything we did not disclose or should have, we were to meet with him. In your case, you disclosed the incident, so I can't imagine that the school would withdraw your admission. Talk to the school, amend your application. You should be fine.

[PaulKriske]

A statement from the police saying what? Would sending the law school a copy of the police report be sufficient?

basically, if anything happened as a result of you drinking underage and it's related to this incident, disclose. any files you have or any events that occurred as a result need to be disclosed.

if you fail to come completely clean and the bar folks find out later, you're SOL for practicing.

[tyro]

When the officer asked me when I was born I lied and said the wrong year so that I'd appear to be 21 (stupid, I know). She then later went on her radio and verified that I was 20. She told me I have one more chance to tell her my real birth date and I did. This is all reflected on the police report which I am guessing the Florida Bar will read during my investigation..

no one will care about your drinking ticket. it's your theft citation that is troubling.

[shock259]

I know TLS is pretty wise, but we aren't going to be able to give you any real advice on whether or not your state bar would admit you because of your citations. You should speak with an attorney or a the bar itself.

[joobacca]

I know TLS is pretty wise, but we aren't going to be able to give you any real advice on whether or not your state bar would admit you because of your citations. You should speak with an attorney or a the bar itself.

yeah, asking here is kind of dumb. it's not like you can rely on this information. just ask your professional responsibility professor. i've found that professors give free legal advice at least once to students.