Going to law school with a conviction

ABA Journal reported a few weeks ago that Mr. David Powers, one of the top students at St. John's University School of Law, was let go from the school, because his disclosure of an expunged 1999 conviction for drug possession did not include the original charge of sales.  How did the school find out?  When he asked them for a letter of support to pass the NY Bar's moral character examination.  According to a comment (#26) following the story, the school's application asks:

Have you ever, either as an adult or juvenile, been cited, arrested, taken into custody, charged with, indicted, convicted or tried for, or pleaded guilty to the commission of any felony or misdemeanor, or the violation of any law, except minor parking violations, or been the subject of any juvenile delinquency or youthful offender proceeding?  If yes, please explain.  Please note: although a conviction may have been expunged or sealed by an order of a court, it nevertheless should be disclosed.

It starts out as a yes/no question.  Presumably, Mr. Powers answered it in the affirmative.  Presumably, he then indicated that he had an expunged drug possession conviction from 1999, as a way of explaining.  Mr. Powers, I'm sure, thought that this was sufficient to satisfy the call of the question.  The school, on the other hand, did not.

The traditional narrative about "a reformed criminal" says that, once a person truly reforms, s/he will freely and fully own up to his/her past mistake and be completely open about it with others.  The reality is less straightforward than that.  Sure, some will be completely open with others.  But, almost to the last one, they do so because they have since integrated their criminal past into their identity: "I am a reformed ex-felon."  They wear the stigma of a criminal conviction as a badge of experience and wisdom--and a sign of hope--as I do my identity as a former drug addict.  I hit the rock bottom, fell right through it, and then somehow, by the grace of God, made it out alive.  And, invariably, when we're sharing our stories, our audience is those that are fast approaching the bottom themselves.  And, invariably, the message is the same: Brother/sister, I hope you too make it out alive as I have.

But we don't always own up to our past mistakes.  Complete and utter transparency, i.e. surrender of privacy regarding one's past mistake, isn't a prerequisite to true rehabilitation.  Time and time again, in this line of work, I meet people who keep their darkest secrets even from their family and closest friends.  One of my first clients, when we first met, had a 40-year old murder conviction that even his wife did not know about.  Yet, ever since his release from prison, he led an exemplary life, serving others and providing for his family.  He was only the first.  Most of my clients hide their past convictions from just about everyone.  For Pete's sake, haven't we all watched Les Miserables and know the story of Jean Valjean?