Juvenile Criminal Record

Parents Forum
1

<p>Question for a friend of mine who will be applying to schools next year: Do colleges do background checks on juvenile criminal records after the applicant has turned 18?</p>

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<p>ALL applications ask about criminal record, and trying to conceal it would be a VERY BAD IDEA.</p>

3

<p>doesn't it get erased when you turn 18? i have no clue</p>

4

<p>If the juvenile records have been sealed they shouldn't show up. This doesn't mean that it's OK to lie on college apps, though. Personally, (and I am not a college admissions officer) think that there are good reasons most juvenile records are sealed, and that minors are generally non compos mentis.</p>

5

<p>Woman</a> Who Killed Mother Denied Harvard Admission - New York Times</p>

<p>Harvard rescinded an acceptance for this reason.</p>

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<p>lmao ok well my friend definitely did not kill someone. I think he has a petty theft misdemeanor (dunno if he was convicted) and maybe a public intoxication warning. Will this cause problems for him?</p>

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<p>I guess it depends on how competitive the university is and how long ago the arrests were...</p>

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<p>juvinielle records are SEALLED. A school cannot see a students juvenile criminal record. A misdemeanor is excusable (but should be claimed) while a felony is a ticket to all bad business. No where will hire him/her. No school will take him/her....all bad business</p>

9

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<p>"No where" is a bit of an exaggeration. There are convicted felons who have served their time and are now out of prison or off probation and are working and/or going to college. </p>

<p>I would say, however, that for a high school senior to have a felony conviction on their record would not be a good thing in general...not only for college admissions, but in general. </p>

<p>There is a question of the FAFSA form asking if you have ever been convicted of a felony.</p>

10

<p>I'm not a lawyer, so I can't give legal advice. However, you mentioned you weren't sure if he was convicted or not - being arrested and convicted are two completely different things. I'm attaching a study that a lawyer did on behalf of Maine Technical College System, and he cites many cases at numerous institutions. You might find this helpful. Here's a passage from the paper:

[quote]
<a href="http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:FjokZ6SBKBoJ:www.aacp.org/site/view.asp%3FCID%3D29%26DID%3D7437+juvenile+conviction+college+admissions&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=safariC%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:FjokZ6SBKBoJ:www.aacp.org/site/view.asp%3FCID%3D29%26DID%3D7437+juvenile+conviction+college+admissions&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=safariC&lt;/a>. Denying or Revoking Admission Because of Criminal Conviction</p>

<p>The few nationally reported opinions directly on point hold that, absent state statutory provisions to the contrary, colleges may either deny or revoke admission because of an applicant’s prior criminal conviction. Martin, 578 F.Supp. at 1485; Martin, 699 F.2d at 392; Gagne, 692 N.E.2d at 496. See also, Stokes and Groves, Rescinding Offers of Admissions When Prior Criminality is Revealed, 105 Ed. L. Rep 855 (1996) (discussing other instances at Harvard, Seton Hall and George Washington Universities). Such denial or revocation typically occurs for two reasons: because the conviction is incompatible with values of the institution or the course of study sought; and/or because the applicant failed when requested to disclose the conviction fully, accurately or at all. Martin, 578 F.Supp. at 1485; Martin, 699 F.2d at 392; Gagne, 692 N.E.2d at 496.

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</p>

<p>Here's an article from Criminal Justice Magazine which might be helpful:

[quote]
CJMagazine</a> Juvenile Justice Articles
Employment and college admissions</p>

<p>Most traditional juvenile codes have provided over the years that an adjudication of delinquency is not a criminal conviction, permitting youth to respond in the negative to questions in college or employment applications asking whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime. However, such applications increasingly include specific references to juvenile adjudications, or as to whether the applicant has ever been arrested, and that creates greater problems for the individual seeking employment or admission to an institution of higher education. The wording of the question is obviously crucial, as is the interpretation of the question’s intent and the information sought by the employment or admissions office. Often, if a juvenile adjudication is not viewed by the state as a conviction of crime, if it need not be revealed upon inquiry, or if it has been expunged, it will not need to be reported on an application form for employment or for admission to college. However, a complete inquiry should be made discreetly on behalf of the youth as to the employer’s or admissions officer’s intent and interpretation of the quality of the inquiry before answering because a false answer may be more damaging to the applicant than an affirmative truthful response.

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</p>

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<p>Tahoe- that's very interesting; I recently saw an application which, the way I read it, didn't just ask just for convictions, but included any arrest, even a traffic ticket, whether that resulted in a conviction or not. So if an applicant isn't sure they should have someone else ask the admissions office "does my friend have to divulge that he was arrested for underage drinking when he was 14?" and get an answer in writing?</p>

12

<p>
[quote]
Question for a friend of mine who will be applying to schools next year: Do colleges do background checks on juvenile criminal records after the applicant has turned 18?

[/quote]
In many States, juvenile criminal records are not automatically sealed. The defendant must initiate proceedings to get them sealed. </p>

<p>The background check requirements of many universities depend on your course of study. If you study nursing, medicine, pharmacy, or other careers that the law requires a background check to get a job, then the university usually requires a background check. </p>

<p>Many background checks do not find all the criminal records. There are some different ways that a background in people search USA can be done. The first method involves you searching each and every public record database, in every location the subject has ever been, for any relevant background information. There are still many places in the country where some public records are not kept online, and this can make a background in people search USA harder because you may have to travel to these places or take a chance on missing important information. Doing a complete check this way can take days or weeks and involve a large amount of effort and frustration. An easier way is to pay a small fee and use an information aggregator while doing the background in people search USA. An information aggregator is a person or company that has a private database which contains the information from many public</a> record databases. This allows you to do a background in people search USA and get results much faster, because all the information is in one place and not scattered in numerous different areas. The results are much more accurate as well, because the chances of missing information is drastically minimized.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
There is a question of the FAFSA form asking if you have ever been convicted of a felony.

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</p>

<p>The question on the FAFSA is more specific:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Have you been convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study)? (Q31)</p>

<p>A federal law suspends eligibility for some students with drug convictions. Count only federal or state convictions for the possession or sale of illegal drugs if the offense occurred during a period of enrollment for which you were receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study). Do not count convictions that have been removed from your record, or occurred before you turned age 18, unless you were tried as an adult.

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</p>

<p>Source: <a href="http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fafsaws89c.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fafsaws89c.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The Common Application, however, does ask for:</p>

<p>Have you ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at an educational institution you have attended from 9th grade (or the international equivalent)
forward, whether related to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in your probation, suspension, removal, dismissal, or expulsion from
the institution? �� Yes �� No</p>

<p>Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other crime? �� Yes �� No</p>

<p>If you answered yes to either or both questions, please attach a separate sheet of paper that gives the approximate date of each incident and explains the circumstances.</p>

<p>Source: <a href="http://www.williams.edu/admission/app_2007/0708_common_app_first_years.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.williams.edu/admission/app_2007/0708_common_app_first_years.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>That FAFSA question is, by the way, something I find completely abhorrent, bad policy, and reflective of nothing but the ardent social conservativeness of Mark Souder.</p>

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<p>You have to request for juvenile records to be sealed. They aren't automatically sealed when the child turns 18.</p>

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<p>I see no compelling reason why the government should give aid to convicted drug offenders. There are alternative sources.</p>

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<p>(OF42 - please don't hijack this thread on your rant about the drug/law thing again - there is already another thread full of that - egads.....) The OP is seeking helpful info about how to deal with something.</p>

<p>In many states the records are expunged after age 16 for minor 'crimes' - check the court situation for each state - and may not have to be reported if they occured prior to age 16 - in some states you have to request that record be sealed. But the key word in alot of this is ''conviction'' - and for the schools info - it may really depend on what the ''conviction'' was for. The financial aid situation has changed relating to the inclusion of drug convictions when it comes to be eligable for fin aid - and the 'rules' are worth reading.</p>

<p>If a candidate reveals a past record - it is a very good idea to write a letter of explination about it - and to include what was learned from that experience as well :)</p>

<p>MUFFY - I would certainly like to see this application that mentions traffic tickets - tho yes - some are considered to be felonies - but a misdemeanor?? - uuummm I find that doubtful.</p>

18

<p>Is it possible two tickets and an MIP as an undergraduate could lead to an Admissions Revocation to a Law School?</p>

19

<p>"You have to request for juvenile records to be sealed. They aren’t automatically sealed when the child turns 18. "</p>

<p>Ricegal – I do not beleive that is true in all states, but as always, parents should get good attorney involved.</p>

20

<p>Expunging is what you want, not a sealing of the juvenile record.</p>

<p>Whether or not a record is sealed or expunged, one should answer the questions on the college application truthfully.</p>