Thread: moral character fitness disclosure

I am in the process of applying to law school and I have something I am uncertain whether to disclose or not on certain applications to law school, and ultimately for acceptance to the bar. I was not charged with any crime, but I feel guilty that I was involved at all. Mind you, I feel guilty about not buying magazines from solicitors that shows up at the door during dinner - and I don't need magazines, and doubt it is for a charitable cause! Still feel guilty So I want to make sure I am doing the right thing, and not disclosing stuff that is of no bearing.

A long time ago (15+ years), I had a car accident in CA. I have never lived in CA. I was on vacation. A friend of mine was in the car, and nobody was injured. No other car was involved. The car went off the road and was totalled. I was 20. The police came as someone reported seeing the car off the road. They asked me if I was drinking and I said no. I never admitted to drinking (I was asked multiple times and denied it). They gave me a field sobriety test, then a breathalizer. I blew a 0.05, under the legal limit of 0.08 at that time.

Because no one was injured, they let me go without a ticket. I was not brought to the station - they let me go at the scene of the accident. They told me that if if my friend had been injured, that I would 'be going to jail'. My friend's dad got a ticket because the registration was expired and he had put a current registration sticker from a different car on it so it would appear OK (I didn't know about that until after). The only reason I was driving is that my friend's license was suspended due to points. (I have since taken this person out of my life! I got in a lot of trouble with this person in my youth, but never any arrests. Just spoke to the police several times in my life.)

Should I disclose this or am I letting my own personal guilt about my foolishness make me do something additionally foolish? I did not get a ticket, and I wasn't arrested. I don't want to disclose because I said I was not drinking. Ironically, I did this because an attorney I met once told me to never admit to drinking if pulled over for a DUI under any event. Plus I was underage. Especially since I didn't get a ticket (I think it highly likely that some paperwork was filed about the investigation), I don't want to disclose. It was denying I was drinking to the police I am worried about - not the rest (after all, I didn't get a ticket).

Thanks for any advise on how best to handle.

I recommend you disclose this incident because it sounds like it falls under that "is there anything else you would like to tell us about" category that always turns up in bar application questions too. If you are evasive, there is the possibility you will set yourself up for later complications you don't need. Why not free yourself of the worry right now?
First, write to the state(s) where you had the incident(s) and request your driver and police records. Easy to do. You need to find out if any records exist now. If they do, they will definitely turn up later during a routine background bar application police check. If there are no records then you know.
Second, if there was more than one incident involving "talks with the police" you will need to put them in perspective. There is a huge range of what "talks with the police" means. Mature people own up to mistakes and take responsibility for their actions and associations with others. Law schools and bar examiners are looking for substance abuse, trust and honesty red flags. If you had these and dealt with them, hold your head up and don't worry.

If you have a tracable police record on this incident, you should report it otherwise, go about your business.

Cease and desist with the guilt trips!

You're totally fine - it's a judgment call and this is one I don't think you have to disclose at all. I'm sure I could also tell the examiners that I once cheated on a math test in 7th grade and that falls under "anything else" category, but this isn't a confessional, you're human, and you make mistakes and the state bar knows that.

While it is important to maintan the integrity of the profession, you need not be a hypersentive moral boy scout ... so long as you're not defrauding old ladies out of their retirement funds - i mean, THATS the stuff they want to know about.

PLUS, this isn't the FBI you're applying for either ... I seriously doubt there is going to be record of that incident lying or that the state board has examiners montioring that stuff. And besides, if there were never any charges filed, I doubt there is any paperwork on this at all still out there.

my vote is you let it slide.

No Arrest? No need to disclose. Trust me! Move on. Don't worry about it.