reporting underage drinking tickets on an application

[rabbit_run]

Hello all,

 

So back in about 1997 I received two underage drinking citations with a span of about 11 months. I believe that these were municipal citations, although I was arrested, handcuffed, and put into the back of a cruiser (in hindsight, WTF?). Do I need to worry about reporting these on my grad school applications? I did a quick search on CCAP and nothing shows up under my name. Here is how the application question is phrased:

 

"Are you currently charged with, or have been found guilty of, any violation of a federal, state, or municipal law, regulation or ordinance other than minor traffic violations, including offenses for which any type of first offender status have been granted?

 

If yes, you must list each separate charge pending against you for which you have been convicted. Dead-docketed charges constitute pending charges and must be disclosed. For each charge, please list the corresponding dates and provide a concise description of the circumstances. For example, if you have been charged with D.U.I, underage drinking, and possession, you must list all three individual charges even though they stem from the same incident."

 

I would have no problem owning up to it, but I am apprehensive about besmirching my application over something that will likely never come up on a background check. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[rabbit_run]

Update: I just went to my state's website for the Department of Justice and paid $7 for an instant background check. Nothing showed up, so I'm not putting it on my application.

[Cookie]

"Are you currently charged with, or have been found guilty of, any violation of a federal, state, or municipal law, regulation or ordinance other than minor traffic violations, including offenses for which any type of first offender status have been granted?

 

If yes, you must list each separate charge pending against you for which you have been convicted. Dead-docketed charges constitute pending charges and must be disclosed. For each charge, please list the corresponding dates and provide a concise description of the circumstances. For example, if you have been charged with D.U.I, underage drinking, and possession, you must list all three individual charges even though they stem from the same incident."

 

I would have no problem owning up to it...

 

Honesty is the best policy. Give them a few lines in your statement(s)  to explain how you have grown to be more mature. People make mistakes, and committees know that. But I doubt they would tolerate lies.

At the end of your applications online, there's always one statement that you declare that you understood their policies and questions, and have given them the best honest answers within your knowledge. By signing it, you are obliged to be truthful.

[rabbit_run]

heart,

 

I truly appreciate your sentiment. However, this program receives around 300 applicants and accepts 5. I don't want to end up in the wrong bin over this. If my state DoJ doesn't have a record of it, I'm not sure how it would ever show up on a background check.

[jdsoc28]

This is not legal advice, but I am a lawyer.  What kind of program are you applying to? If you need to obtain licensing after graduation you could be in serious trouble if your answers to the application diverge from the answers you provide to the licensing board, and failure to be honest is almost always grounds for denial.  Additionally, you cannot reasonably rely upon a single database report, particularly when you know that you were arrested for the violation at the time. 

 

 If you did not enter a plea of guilty or its equivalent, it doesn't sound like there would be any problem with your response since the question calls for convictions premised upon guilt, which would not include civil infractions.  However, the question that you provided does reference "first offender status," which presumably refers to Georgia.  According to the Georgia Justice Project, if you received first offender status your criminal history would not show up on a state database search, and it is not clear that the database search that you entered was for Georgia or another state.  Additionally, the question requires disclosure of "dead docketed" charges, which based on a very simple google search might encompass any charge that was diverted by the prosecutor upon agreement with defense counsel and the approval of the court, although it might be limited to felony prosecutions so that would not encompass a minor in possession charge.  If you received a pretrial diversion of some sort without any entry of any plea, you wouldn't need to respond in the affirmative the way that I read that question.

 

 In any event, it might very well depend on how your case was resolved, and where.  You cannot simply rely on the absence of a database entry.  They're notoriously bad and subject to human error, and I've had clients with no records suddenly discover that there was an erroneous conviction entry or vice versa.  If they have a different system and something comes up (although I doubt that they run them for all applicants), you might be denied on the basis of a materially misleading application.  Additionally, there are sometimes criminal penalties associated with submitting false applications and documents, particularly to state agencies or entities.

 

 Just FYI.  Good luck with your applications.      

[rabbit_run]

jd,

 

Wow. Thanks for your insight. I'm applying to an MFA program so there's no licensing issues. The school is in Georgia, but I am applying out of state. If I remember correctly, I pled no contest to both citations. Arrrg... I'll probably just report them. I'm just a little frustrated that a stupid underage drinking citation 16 years ago could affect my application. 

[Loric]

Aren't records for minors sealed?

 

So unless you get into new trouble, no one will know they exist. You're not going into law, so don't worry about it.

 

Now bring on the shouting down of how this is terrible advice...

[jdsoc28]

Records for minors are usually sealed, but "minors" usually refers to people 17 or under, and "minor" for purpose of an MIP is under 21, and thus no sealing under juvenile records.  Moreover, thank to Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other lobbies the state laws on sealing for any alcohol or drug related offenses are usually pretty bad, particularly if it is in any way connected to a vehicle (even if not an operating offense).  The law on sealing and age eligibility also varies across jurisdictions.

 

 Honestly, I doubt that graduate schools blink at MIP charges, but a plea of no contest is equivalent to a guilty plea for the purposes that are relevant here (NC usually just preserves your ability to defend a civil suit or addresses some other collateral consequence).  I would assume that they want disclosure, and I would also assume that you are likely to get into more trouble if you do not disclose. 

 

 Actually, one would think an MFA program might actually consider it an advantage.  Not everyone has been arrested, after all.  And I had friends with DUI and similar misdemeanor controlled substance convictions in law school, and they're far more likely to hold it against you in those applications. 

[Eigen]

We had a law student admitted here after conviction and serving time for murder.

I wouldn't think the school would hold MIP strongly against you, but might have issues with lying on the app, if it was found out.

[med latte]

We had a law student admitted here after conviction and serving time for murder.

I wouldn't think the school would hold MIP strongly against you, but might have issues with lying on the app, if it was found out.

 

From convicted murderer to attorney who knows the system from both sides.  That would make a great movie.