Alabama Public Intoxication

[jlcook75]

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I am wondering if anyone out there has experience with a public intoxication in the state of alabama. I got a public intoxication and plead youthful defender my freshman year. The record should have been sealed however there is always a chance they never actually sealed it. It is my understanding that public intox is only a violation in alabama not a misdemeanor or felony. Therefor It does not seem like i need to disclose it on my apps as they only ask for misdemeanors and felonies. I am hoping to find someone that has been in this similar situation to see what they did. Thanks!

btw: I have learned from my mistake and realize drinking isnt the answer... so please no criticizing. We all make mistakes, this was over three years ago.

 

[lmn]

Why aren't you contacting the courthouse that processed it? Or talking to your lawyer? You can't get help from others if you don't even know what your situation is.

 

[theseeker4]

I am wondering if anyone out there has experience with a public intoxication in the state of alabama. I got a public intoxication and plead youthful defender my freshman year. The record should have been sealed however there is always a chance they never actually sealed it. It is my understanding that public intox is only a violation in alabama not a misdemeanor or felony. Therefor It does not seem like i need to disclose it on my apps as they only ask for misdemeanors and felonies. I am hoping to find someone that has been in this similar situation to see what they did. Thanks!

btw: I have learned from my mistake and realize drinking isnt the answer... so please no criticizing. We all make mistakes, this was over three years ago.

Contact a lawyer first, to check whether it is a misdemeanor or a "violation"/civil infraction. If it is the latter, you can safely answer "no" to the questions about misdemeanors and felonies. The lawyer is the only one who can help you, since even if someone came on here and told you their story about getting a "youthful defender" in Alabama, are you going to trust your future to an anonymous member of an internet forum?

 

[Goro]

Just explain this when you get the prompt in your secondary. You'll be fine. Adcoms remember what it was like to be young and stupid.

I am wondering if anyone out there has experience with a public intoxication in the state of alabama. I got a public intoxication and plead youthful defender my freshman year. The record should have been sealed however there is always a chance they never actually sealed it. It is my understanding that public intox is only a violation in alabama not a misdemeanor or felony. Therefor It does not seem like i need to disclose it on my apps as they only ask for misdemeanors and felonies. I am hoping to find someone that has been in this similar situation to see what they did. Thanks!

btw: I have learned from my mistake and realize drinking isnt the answer... so please no criticizing. We all make mistakes, this was over three years ago.

 

[jlcook75]

Although I am 99% sure this record has been sealed and was in fact a violation because under alabama law public intoxication is a violation, I am starting to contemplate whether I should just disclose this on my TMDSAS app just in ccase it does for some reason appear on the background check I do not want to be viewed as trying to hide anything. Would it be bad to answer the misdemeanor felony question yes. and then in the explanation begin with saying I received a public intoxication my freshman year. It is my understanding that this incident was classified as a violation rather than a misdemeanor and has since been sealed, I do not want to seem as if I am hiding anything on the off chance this does come up on my background check. And then go into explaining what I learned from it and how I have matured since then? I realize answering the question with a yes is not the best case scenario but I feel like going about it this way should not harm my application.

What are yalls thoughts

 

[theseeker4]

Although I am 99% sure this record has been sealed and was in fact a violation because under alabama law public intoxication is a violation, I am starting to contemplate whether I should just disclose this on my TMDSAS app just in ccase it does for some reason appear on the background check I do not want to be viewed as trying to hide anything. Would it be bad to answer the misdemeanor felony question yes. and then in the explanation begin with saying I received a public intoxication my freshman year. It is my understanding that this incident was classified as a violation rather than a misdemeanor and has since been sealed, I do not want to seem as if I am hiding anything on the off chance this does come up on my background check. And then go into explaining what I learned from it and how I have matured since then? I realize answering the question with a yes is not the best case scenario but I feel like going about it this way should not harm my application.

What are yalls thoughts

Contact a lawyer and find out how the violation is classified, and then answer the questions truthfully. Volunteering information you don't need that casts a negative light on you will in no way benefit you, it will only hurt you.

 

[zzxxzz]

I had a similar incident and reported it as a minor misdemeanor, which it seems to be in my state. The fine was significantly reduced (to ~$20) and I reported this as well.

I also had a traffic violation and reported it under misdemeanors, even though it was only a violation and the fine was waived (oh well).

As far as I understand it, unless you live in certain states, you must report any conviction, even if sealed/expunged, on your primary and secondaries, as well as any charges brought against you regardless of the outcome.

Being honest is 10000x worse than being dishonest or making a mistake that makes you appear dishonest.

 

[jlcook75]

Did reporting of the misdemeanor hurt your chances at acceptance>? or did you end up getting accepted?

 

[zzxxzz]

I'm applying this cycle but I would be absolutely shocked if a minor misdemeanor from several years ago affects my chances at admission at all. No other run-ins with the law (other than the sketchy moving violation, also from several years ago, which I probably could've beaten), no speeding tickets, etc.

To be a little more specific, the charge was the least serious alcohol-related charge possible.

It was actually an interesting experience. Going to court was kind of surreal. I wore very formal clothes and was extremely polite and formal; literally every other defendant was wearing things like basketball jerseys or Tupac shirts. Heard some ridiculous crimes and some equally ridiculous defenses.

 

[lmn]

I believe you can also pay certiphi a bit of money to run your background check prior to admission/waitlist requests from schools so you can see if it would show up or not.

 

[Reckoner]

As far as I understand it, unless you live in certain states, you must report any conviction, even if sealed/expunged, on your primary and secondaries, as well as any charges brought against you regardless of the outcome.

This is false with regard to the primary. AMCAS specifically instructs you to exclude expunged records, and asks only for convictions, not charges. Not sure about TMDSAS. Some secondaries do ask for all convictions, including expunged ones. As @theseeker4 said, there is no reason to volunteer negative information about yourself beyond what the applications ask for.

But I agree with others here, OP: contact a lawyer and the courthouse that handled your conviction, find out the status of your case, and proceed accordingly.