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So it literally occurred to me last night, after meeting up with college friends, that I received a citation for an open container when I was 21 or 22. I am now 35. I'm starting law school this fall.

I was never arrested or charged with anything, never had to go to court. It was just a ticket the cop gave me, which I dropped off at city hall with a check IIRC. I did not mention this on any of my law school apps last fall, because I didn't remember it until now. I don't think there would be any kind of record of it. Is this something I need to report to the school I will be attending?

Yes, that is almost certainly a C&F issue. It won't necessarily be a huge issue, but you definitely need to let them know about it.

Here's what you do: Don't disclose. Never bring it up again. Forget it ever happened. Break your computer.

That is something you need to disclose when it comes to the Moral Character and Fitness application for the general bar exam. As for law school application, you should send an email to schools you applied to letting them know you inadvertently left it out, did not believe you needed to disclose, or just recently recalled this information. Honesty is crucial when it comes to applications in law school and to the bar.

Abraham Lincoln Uni. wrote:That is something you need to disclose when it comes to the Moral Character and Fitness application for the general bar exam. As for law school application, you should send an email to schools you applied to letting them know you inadvertently left it out, did not believe you needed to disclose, or just recently recalled this information. Honesty is crucial when it comes to applications in law school and to the bar.

^this.

You do not want to wait and tell C&F, only for them to notice that you never disclosed it to your school. Let the school know promptly.

I'd tell the school you are going to (and any schools you have applications open at or waitlisted at) because this won't impact your bar admission even a little bit. Purposely hiding it would. So just disclose it and it's no big deal.

But I wonder if the applications even ask for something this minor. Probably depends on the specific language in each application. Typically small civil infractions aren't asked for, but who knows.

Desert Fox wrote:
But I wonder if the applications even ask for something this minor. Probably depends on the specific language in each application. Typically small civil infractions aren't asked for, but who knows.

As an example, the language at UVA was (and may since have changed) "Have you ever been convicted of any offense, excluding minor traffic violations which did not involve injury to others?"

A citation that was accepted and included an admission of guilt, or which was accepted in lieu of going to court might fall under that. I would certainly err on the side of disclosure because a) it's the right thing to do; b) the impact will be small; and c) the potential cost of not disclosing is huge.