Misconduct. What is it, and what to do. Forum

[theoceandmb]

Hi everyone, long time reader first-time poster. On Saturday, during the second section, the proctor came up to me with a yellow slip and set it on my desk. I had not received a warning for anything, nor did I think I had done anything wrong. Naturally, I was extremely shaken, and approached her during the fifteen minute break. I asked her what it was for and she said that I had not put my pencil down fast enough after she said time. This is bullsh** because I was filling in my last bubble and set it down about .5 seconds after time was called. On the yellow sheet is says "suspected worked past time". Not even DID work past time, but suspected. I was furious, but finished the test alright. I feel that I did well, but now I am worried this will hurt my chances for something that I feel I didn't do, or was extremely blown out of proportion. Additionally, this proctor gave out 4 of these in our room of 12 kids. Ridiculous.

Anyway, thats my rant. What should I do about this? Im trying to stay calm, but I worked WAY too hard for WAY too long to let this hurt my chances. What does a "misconduct" even mean in the first place? Any advice?

Please no smart-ass comments. Now isn't the time.

[KevinP]

I'm not really sure what you can do besides wait for LSAC's subcommittee to decide whether a misconduct/irregularity has occurred. Maybe another poster might know more.

Here's a direct quote from one of the mods describing the the yellow slip.

Yes, the yellow slip is a misconduct/irregularity slip.

Does anything happen to him from LSAC, or is it between him and the adcomms now?

That's really BS, he got a good 10-15 minutes extra into the graded section before he was busted.

From an ABA guide to applying to law school:

The legal profession has set standards for ethical conduct by lawyers. Similarly, law schools have set standards for ethical conduct by law school applicants through the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). These standards are known as the LSAC Rules Governing Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admission Process. Just as lawyers are required to study, understand, and comply with the ABA’s ethical standards, law school applicants are expected to read, understand, and comply with LSAC’s ethical standards. If you fail to comply with LSAC’s ethical standards, you may be barred from admission to law school.

Individual law schools and bar authorities determine what action, if any, they will take in response to a finding of misconduct or irregularity. Such action may include the closing of an admission file, revocation of an offer of admission, dismissal from law school through a school’s internal disciplinary channels, or disbarment. Thus, a finding of misconduct or irregularity is a very serious matter.

When alleged misconduct or irregularity brings into question the validity of the LSAC data about a candidate, the school may be notified of possible data error, and transmission of LSAT scores and academic summary reports will be withheld until the matter has been resolved by the Law School Admission Council’s Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admission Process Subcommittee. The Council will investigate all instances of alleged misconduct or irregularities in the admission process in accordance with the LSAC Rules Governing Misconduct and Irregularities in the Admission Process. A subcommittee representative will determine whether misconduct or an irregularity has occurred. If the subcommittee representative determines that a preponderance of the evidence shows misconduct or irregularity, then a report of the determination is sent to all law schools to which the individual has applied, subsequently applies, or has matriculated. Notation that a misconduct or irregularity report is on file is also included on LSAT and credential assembly service reports to law schools. Such reports are retained indefinitely.

Source: http://apps.americanbar.org/legaled/app ... School.pdf

It really isn't your business what happens to other people, but just so you know, he's probably fucked.

[theoceandmb]

Thanks for that. It also says that its just a "warning"? Does that make a difference?

[KevinP]

Thanks for that. It also says that its just a "warning"? Does that make a difference?

I'm not sure, I think they list it was a warning because they have yet to decide whether to take action.

Also, I browsed some previous threads and was able to find this regarding a decision, maybe it'll be relevant:
--ImageRemoved--

Source:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 6&t=143719

[theoceandmb]

Thanks a lot, this helped. Hopefully because it wasn't too serious (such as looking back to another section, or having a cellphone etc.) they won't do anything about it. Fingers crossed

[Stevoman]

1/3 of your group got misconduct citations? LOL, sounds like one of your proctors was having a bad day.

[tepper]

I don't wanna freak you out, but mostly likely your score will be canceled, but you won't find out until score release date. When I took the LSAT last year, a guy posted something very similar to what happened to you, he found out that his score was canceled when everyone's score was released.

Even if your score is canceled, you can still register to take it again. But regardless, good luck to you.

[z0rk]

Before offering my opinion/advice I must caution that I have no actual experience with yellow slips, so please take that into account when making a decision.

Firstly, its unfortunate that you had this experience and I feel for your frustration. If you are correct about the amount of yellow slips that were handed out in your room I would venture to say that you had an uptight proctor. While its plausible to hand out four slips for four actual violations in a single room, the likelihood just doesn't seem that great to me. Did you have any chance to speak with other students at the test center regarding this? Did they receive similar violations? If you receive a letter from LSAC I would be proactive in letting them know that this incident was not isolated to just you, and that you had a proctor who, given your representation of the situation, seemed to be acting in an conspicuous manner.