<p>When I was in high school, everyone was going through a shoplifting phase. I got suckered into with peer presure and all. One day at the mall another girl and i got caught. I have a summary offense against me. I woundered if i could still become a lawyer? Would i be able to take the bar and that kinda stuff?</p>
<p>It's possible to become an attorney with such an offense on your record, provided that there is a substantial period showing that you have been rehabilitated, and that you take full responsibility for your misdeed. Dismissing this as a phase that "everyone was going through" is unlikely to impress the bar examiners. You chose to steal, knowing that it was wrong, and did it anyway. You're more likely to pass muster with the bar examiners if you acknowledge what you did, and convince them that the shame of being caught and punished was a wakeup call that helped you to grow up and assume responsbility for your actions.</p>
<p>I would also recommend full disclosure on your law school applications (most ask if you've ever been convicted of any crimes or pleaded nolo contendere to any charges), as your law school applications are submitted to the bar examiners when you apply to the bar after graduation. I would also recommend full disclosure on your bar application. Nondisclosure can be a reason for rejection of a law school application, expulsion from law school, refusal to admit you to the bar and later disbarrment.</p>
<p>What about charges that were dropped? Example--son received a noise ordinance charge for his car stereo. In that town, it was a misdemeanor. The police officer agreed to "drop" the charge prior to court.</p>
<p>If the charges were dropped then technically there was no "plea" or conviction, was there?</p>
<p>^^^That's what I would think, but I certainly have no legal background.</p>
<p>not to change the subject but what if i have an infraction and was issued a citation?</p>
<p>Was it a speeding ticket-type citation? Because I don't think a speeding ticket (which in California IIRC is expunged from your record after you complete traffic school) is going to cost you your admission to the bar. I'm sure everyone reading your application to the bar has had a few speeding tickets too.</p>
<p>My recollection is that the bar examiners were primarily concerned about offenses that involved moral turpitude. They aren't worried about a speeding ticket but if you fail to comply with the citation that may be a different story.</p>
<p>actually it was public urination....ya i no really dumb move on my part. left the bar and there was no where to go. so i went in an ally, and the cop wrote me a ticket. it was just a ticket no a felony or misdemenor or anything like that, just an infraction. should i still put it on the app? do i have too?....o ya and the ticket was sent to the traffic court division in my county (Contra Costa in California).</p>
<p>Depends on the application. Some schools seem to want everything, down to the last ticket. Others don't care about citations issued and paid (as per their applications). If you really want to know, call and ask the school what they want on it. Someone in admissions can give you the official answer.</p>
<p>If in doubt, disclose. I had a a couple of tickets as an undergrad (one for riding a bicycle without a light) that I had neglected to take care of. When I was in law school, I discovered that there was a bench warrant for a failure to appear that prevented me from renewing my license. I called the court and arranged to pay the fine, and got my driver's license back.</p>
<p>When I applied for admission to the bar, I called the hotline to ask whether I needed to disclose it. (The bar application said that it wasn't necessary to report routine traffic infractions.) The person answering the hotline told me I should report the "failure to appear". I followed her advice, and the bar didn't raise any fitness issues. </p>
<p>Assume that they're going to find out in any event. The question then becomes, "given that they will know everything about the offense, am I better off reporting it, or not reporting it?"</p>
<p>Report it.</p>
<p>I agree with Greybeard completely. If there is any question about whether to report an incident, report it! If you fail to report it, even if the crime is truly a big nothing (e.g. public urination) it can be grounds for expulsion from law school or revocation of a law degree (though this is unlikely), it can give an ethics committee reason to refuse to admit you to the bar, even after you have passed the bar exam, and it can be grounds for an employer to fire you. </p>
<p>The failure to report is considered to be dishonesty or even fraud, so even if the crime is not one involving either, the failure becomes the problem.</p>
<p>In addition, make certain that the manner in which you report on your law school application matches how you later report on your bar exam application. They will both be reviewed by the applicable bar examining committee and any discrepancies will cause more significant attention to be paid to the issue. </p>
<p>Report, report, report!</p>