Criminal History- Application Help Forum

[mfleviathan2]

Dear TLS community,

I am currently in a big predicament regarding an unfortunate criminal history past that occurred in July 2018. I was arrested for a DUI and eventually was convicted for a wet and reckless in Mid December. To make matters worse, on the day after the DUI in July 2018 I committed petty theft of roughly 8$ and a police report was filed (no formal arrest), eventually that charge was dismissed (not factual innocence, but plead down) during the December hearing for both the DUI and petty theft. These are the only two issues on my criminal record.

I applied this past cycle and was accepted to a t10 early in september, but was rescinded after disclosing the petty theft arrest (prior to it being dropped.) As soon as it was dropped and the DUI was confined to a wet and reckless I updated all schools yet I got waitlisted/or put on hold for further review for all other T14s.

I have a 166 LSAT, k-JD, 3.97 LSAC GPA upon graduation, non urm, and from a top 5 public school in America.

I have come to the acceptance that I probably won't get off a waitlist this cycle and I should reapply next cycle with a better written PS and not canned supplementals. I was wondering if there was any advice I can receive to improve my chances for next year's cycle and my particular situation.

[cavalier1138]

Best thing you can do for your chances is put some distance between yourself and the charges. An LSAT retake would also open a lot of doors. But it's very important that you show you can go a few years without committing crimes.

The silver lining is that going K-JD is almost universally a bad idea, so you're only going to benefit from spending some time out of school.

[QContinuum]

Best thing you can do for your chances is put some distance between yourself and the charges. An LSAT retake would also open a lot of doors. But it's very important that you show you can go a few years without committing crimes.

The silver lining is that going K-JD is almost universally a bad idea, so you're only going to benefit from spending some time out of school.

I second the above in its entirety. The offenses occurred so recently (less than a year ago!) and are so probative of incredibly bad judgment that I think OP will basically be persona non grata at the T13/T20 until at least a couple of years have gone by, with no new C&F issues and with OP holding down a decent job. OP should also have a really good explanation of why he did what he did and what he's done since July 2018 to improve his judgment.

Waiting a few years is hardly the end of the world because as noted, it's generally advisable for K-JDs to take at least one gap year anyway (in this case, OP should take at least 2-3 years, IMO, to put increased distance between him and the 2018 offenses). And squeezing a few more points out of the LSAT would be enormously helpful too. If OP hits a 170, and puts the 2018 stuff behind him, then he should be golden.

[BaronBarrister]

If I'm understanding this correctly, you committed petty theft while in the process of applying to law school? Your problems are much bigger than how this cycle will go (it will go badly). That and a DUI? Do you know how that makes you look?

It sounds like you have some major growing up to do and serious judgment issues. These are things you have to address before even considering going to law school and becoming a lawyer. If you, as a lawyer, were hit with a DUI and a theft charge within a few months, you would face disciplinary proceedings and possibly lose your license. You may even have some C&F trouble with the record you've managed to put together already, quite frankly. One or two minor issues will not be a bar to law school, but theft and DUI are not minor. Check Reddit and see how cycles went for people with serious C&F issues.

If you are a K-JD, I would recommend you work for several years, do community service and other very, very positive things, and DO NOT get in any further trouble. Good luck.