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Misdemeanors
- Thread starter medhopeful811
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You would be an automatic reject in my book. Alcohol is not a problem, but running from the law and thus getting a second charge is enough to lose the benefit of the doubt. Call an attorney God's sake.
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I would bite the bullet and go to court.
I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but you got charged with two crimes and you thought ignoring that fact for five years would make them go away? Is it now that you're planning to apply to medical school that these charges magically popped into your head again? I hope your lawyer can drum up a better excuse than that.
If you have truly learned from your mistake, show it. That's what admissions committees want to see when there's a blemish on your record.
I think with the pending charges, you'd be wasting your time and money applying this cycle. I would take care of this legal matter first.
Is all lost? No. But, it's another hurdle and a big one.
Apply in a year, more reasonably two, when all of this is truly behind you. In the meantime, continue to show good judgment.
I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but you got charged with two crimes and you thought ignoring that fact for five years would make them go away? Is it now that you're planning to apply to medical school that these charges magically popped into your head again? I hope your lawyer can drum up a better excuse than that.
If you have truly learned from your mistake, show it. That's what admissions committees want to see when there's a blemish on your record.
I think with the pending charges, you'd be wasting your time and money applying this cycle. I would take care of this legal matter first.
Is all lost? No. But, it's another hurdle and a big one.
Apply in a year, more reasonably two, when all of this is truly behind you. In the meantime, continue to show good judgment.
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TL;DR: In 2009, the poster was charged with two misdemeanors (underage possession and I forget the second) in another state that were never resolved. He or she thought that by ignoring them (poster's words) that they would go away. Recently, he or she discovered that a warrant is out for a failure to appear.
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Don't let these armchair supreme court judges shame you into feeling bad, what's done is done. I would hire a lawyer, travel there and fight it though. Definitely not something you should leave up to chance.
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I got an MIC (minor in consumption) in Arizona. An underage drinking ticket anywhere else. I failed to appear because I live across the country. That automatically added a failure to appear, and a warrant. I get it was stupid. I'm asking if after I get this taken care of (pay the $350 for the warrant), should I hire an attorney to get charges possibly dropped or lowered or plead guilty by mail.
I was not running from the law. It was a unique circumstance. Obviously I should have taken care of it sooner. I didn't. I'm asking if by explaining the situation on applications, if I might get away with pleading guilty to those 2 charges and just paying $ without having to hire a lawyer (lots more $$). Thanks for being super judgmental though.
I was not running from the law. It was a unique circumstance. Obviously I should have taken care of it sooner. I didn't. I'm asking if by explaining the situation on applications, if I might get away with pleading guilty to those 2 charges and just paying $ without having to hire a lawyer (lots more $$). Thanks for being super judgmental though.
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Hopefully you won't use this excuse in court. Ignorance of the law is simply not an excuse. Besides, you said yourself that you purposely ignored it because you thought it would go away. Please think before you post and before you make yourself more damage. You need a skilled attorney because the only thing you're doing is sinking yourself more.
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OP - I think in your original post you based your position off of what a courthouse clerk told you. Are you sure that's necessarily the wisest move? Also, you automatically assume that hiring a lawyer would be expensive, but I take it that you haven't done any research into local practicioners (as you otherwise would have said "The lawyers I've looked up...") and at least scheduled a consultation (which are ususally free) to see whether your situation would warrant a billable hour or a flat rate.
A lot of what happens in legal practice is based off of interpersonal relationships between opposing counsel. You don't know if an attorney could have your case dismissed, or the charge(s) reduced, or even obtain a withhold of adjudication if it somehow went to trial. Be smart about this & contact a professional before you make a possibly hasty decision.
A lot of what happens in legal practice is based off of interpersonal relationships between opposing counsel. You don't know if an attorney could have your case dismissed, or the charge(s) reduced, or even obtain a withhold of adjudication if it somehow went to trial. Be smart about this & contact a professional before you make a possibly hasty decision.
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Thank you for your reply. After thinking it through and contacting a few lawyers I have decided to hire one and have them handle things for me as I'm obviously not qualified to do it myself, or knowledgable about the law there. I am hopeful that the charge will be dismissed/reduced like you mentioned.
