Will a juvenile criminal record keep me from getting into law school or passing the bar?
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Will a juvenile criminal record keep me from getting into law school or passing the bar?
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I've got a great academic record, nice LSATs, and a pretty hot resume full of a lot volunteer and civic activity.
But when I was 13 I was adjudicated of a couple of crimes (one 1st degree misdemeanor and a 4th or 5th degree felony--it wasn't fraud or anything....mainly assault-related).
Since then my record has been spotless and all of the terms of my sentence were completed long ago.
But I'm concerned about either not getting into law school or getting in and then having wasted that time and money because I can't pass the character and fitness exam.
Any advice?
Additional Details
Guys...my record is confidential. But when you go to take the bar, you MUST disclose all arrests and convictions for the character and fitness portion of the bar exam. The board of examiners will have access you all records and not disclosing a juvenile conviction is not an option. Even expunged records must be disclosed. Your advice is solid as far as other jobs go...but when applying for the bar, I can't pretend it never happened.
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CatLaw
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The Character & Fitness committee that determines if a person is fit to pass the bar exam is run differently in each state. Right not the most common practice is to do that Character & Fitness application in your first year of law school, but that may not be how your state or law school does it.
When I went to law school that was done at the point when you knew you were about to graduate, after paying the last semester's tuition. Some of my classmates were not approved the first time.
You are correct that you need to disclose everything, even those items that are expunged. As you probably know the worst thing you can do on one of these applications is be dishonest. I was told that the committee looks at the time between when the acts happened and now. Was the person young when it happened? Was it a short time ago? Has your record been spotless since? Have you given back to the community? All those subjective issues are taken into consideration. As I know it there is no hard and fast rules it all depends on the person applying. You may be called to testify before the committee about the issue, which is not unusual.
My advice is that you follow your dream to get into law school. |
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Alex
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in texas your records are sealed at 17.....check your state laws and you should be fine |
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Watch IT!
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Petition the Court to have your record expunged, especially in light of your successes.
And passing the bar is a result of the action of taking a test, so that's immaterial to your question. |
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wartz
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Juvenile records are not public so it should not cause a problem. You should contact the court and see if they can be permanently sealed. |
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Rayne of Terror
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Disclose it on your law school apps. If you don't and then you disclose for the bar then you could have trouble. It may be as minor as amending your law school application, but that would be a choice for the dean to make. If you don't get into law school because of it, then it's better to know BEFORE you are tens of thousands (or more!) of dollars in student loan debt. |
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Lugbug
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I would think so... |
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