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Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 6:17 pm
by Anonymous Questioner
Quick question about whether this incident will be a problem for the Pennsylvania Bar:

In the summer of undergrad after junior year, I was working in D.C., and I made an incredibly foolish mistake and accepted a fellow employee's offer to inhale a single hit of marijuana while outside on a lunch break. I immediately realized that what I had done was super irresponsible, though, so I ended the interaction then and there. After my employer found out a few weeks later, she rightly fired both of us. No charges of any kind were filed -- the only record exists in the computer systems of my former job, which simply lists it as "terminated for cause." Since then, I have never used or experimented with drugs of any kind, nor do I plan to ever again.

When I applied to law school, I truthfully and completely disclosed the incident on my application. Am I downright screwed or even probably in trouble for the PA bar's C&F?

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 2:15 pm
by Hukuluku
I wrote a big thing out, and it logged me out before I was done and deleted the entire thing. Ugh.

No, you are not screwed. You took the initiative to fully disclose it, and I'm assuming you've matured since then and have kept away from drugs. Just ensure that they know you aren't trying to minimize your culpability in the incident, but DO make them aware that you haven't touched drugs since then, you don't have a drug/alcohol problem, you weren't fired from more jobs, and that you fully disclosed the incident to the school.

I would be dumbfounded if the Bar does anything more than ask you about it (which, admittedly, they probably will, since it is an incident involving drugs). To deny you a license based on an incident from years ago that you've clearly matured from would be outrageous, in my mind, and from everything I've read.

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 3:47 pm
by Anonymous Questioner
Hukuluku wrote:I wrote a big thing out, and it logged me out before I was done and deleted the entire thing. Ugh.

No, you are not screwed. You took the initiative to fully disclose it, and I'm assuming you've matured since then and have kept away from drugs. Just ensure that they know you aren't trying to minimize your culpability in the incident, but DO make them aware that you haven't touched drugs since then, you don't have a drug/alcohol problem, you weren't fired from more jobs, and that you fully disclosed the incident to the school.

I would be dumbfounded if the Bar does anything more than ask you about it (which, admittedly, they probably will, since it is an incident involving drugs). To deny you a license based on an incident from years ago that you've clearly matured from would be outrageous, in my mind, and from everything I've read.
Since no legal actions were originally brought, but I am technically admitting to unlawful conduct in writing now, will I face prosecution?

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 5:35 pm
by Hukuluku
Anonymous Questioner wrote:
Since no legal actions were originally brought, but I am technically admitting to unlawful conduct in writing now, will I face prosecution?
I'm not a lawyer, at all, so this is to be taken with a big slab of salt. But, that would be preposterous. They're not a law enforcement agency, in the same way that they're not a collections agency for people with delinquent debts. They're not in the business of wasting resources on prosecuting petty offenses that happened long ago and far away.

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:25 pm
by Anonymous Questioner
Hukuluku wrote:
Anonymous Questioner wrote:
Since no legal actions were originally brought, but I am technically admitting to unlawful conduct in writing now, will I face prosecution?
I'm not a lawyer, at all, so this is to be taken with a big slab of salt. But, that would be preposterous. They're not a law enforcement agency, in the same way that they're not a collections agency for people with delinquent debts. They're not in the business of wasting resources on prosecuting petty offenses that happened long ago and far away.
Yeah I guess that was maybe a dumb question haha. Statute of limitations just gave me crazy brain for a second.

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 6:38 pm
by Anonymous Questioner
Anybody know if I am likely to have any hiring troubles in the future? Particularly interested in the following career paths: DA/USAO, State judgeship, maybe JAG, maybe federal government stuff (e.g., FBI attorney), etc.

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 12:31 pm
by eck456
Anonymous Questioner wrote:Anybody know if I am likely to have any hiring troubles in the future? Particularly interested in the following career paths: DA/USAO, State judgeship, maybe JAG, maybe federal government stuff (e.g., FBI attorney), etc.

If that is your only drug use, or all drug use was years ago and you can testify that on lie detector (and friends/ ex roomies will confirm, etc) you're probably fine. They really care about marijuana in: 1) it's a federal law, are you still breaking it 2) are you still using it and therefore your judgement could be impaired 3) is it something someone could blackmail you with 4) are you trying to lie to get a gov't job bc that will show you're willing to lie at your own convenience. FBI/ CIA might be different but that's what I've heard from fed gov, state, USAO, etc. they definitely want to see at least a year-3 with no drug use at all, though. also none of this applies to harder drugs (tho I've heard from friends that college use of mushrooms or a hit of cocaine or something is also fixable if you disclose). sec clearance often will come down to individual factors and your personal transparency but if it's several years into your past and you disclose vs. them finding it, in most cases I think you're fine

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 4:31 pm
by LSATWiz.com
Nobody is going to find out about it aside from C&F who isn't going to care. Don't over-disclose or piss them off by writing a long diatribe pretending you believe taking a puff of a joint is like breaching the Geneva Convention. They'll think you're full of crap. Just state what you did in two sentences, and what you learned from it in one sentence and it will be a nonissue.

They're not going to interview your ex-roommates about your marijuana usage. The above post is completely off-base. If this is the only time, you've been caught for pot, they will not care. Don't say it was the only time you smoked pot, because the odds you got caught the only time you smoked pot are long and they will think you're full of crap. It's subjective, and this isn't something that's going to pose an issue to any reasonable reviewer unless you're an idiot or seem like a liar.

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:33 pm
by nixy
The bar probably won’t interview ex-roommates about mj usage, but the federal government will, which is what the post above yours was talking about.

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2018 8:57 pm
by Anonymous Questioner
Update: I just called the PA Bar Examiners and asked them anonymously. They said that if this was my only blemish on my application (and I plan for it to be), then it should be fine. They said they might ask me to write a personal statement giving further details, but that'd likely be the end of it.

Re: Pennsylvania C&F Question -- Job Termination

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 2018 12:48 pm
by eck456
nixy wrote:The bar probably won’t interview ex-roommates about mj usage, but the federal government will, which is what the post above yours was talking about.
yeah, to clarify i was not saying the bar will call your ex roommates. State department and many other branches of the US government definitely will if you're in serious contention for a job requiring a security clearance