A Proven Criminal Defense Team

Should criminal history be queried on college applications?

On Behalf of | Oct 8, 2018 | Underage Drinking and Driving |

We noted in a recent blog post a particularly disturbing reality for some young people in Colorado and elsewhere connected with the rite of college admission. Our September 24 entry zeroed in on the moment when a hopeful applicant confronts “an application question soliciting details regarding a past arrest or conviction.”

That can equate to a figurative screeching of the brakes for some adolescents. In a worst-case scenario, a “yes” entry ticked off on an application box can flatly eliminate all hope of being admitted to a favored school.

Is that fair?

We submit at Shazam & Associates in Denver that it is not, at least in most cases. Our deep legal team routinely advocates with passion and conviction on behalf of juveniles whose criminal transgressions are often linked more closely with immaturity and lack of judgment than with criminal intent.

In short, young people make mistakes, and to hold that against them as they pursue a life-changing opportunity can seem illogical and heavy-handed. We note in the above-cited blog post that our attorneys lament ever seeing a young person’s dreams “waylaid or even shattered by a single indiscretion marked by something like underage drinking or alcohol possession.”

Overseers of the Common Application used by legions of American would-be college entrants apparently feel the same way. They announced recently that they will forgo inquiring about criminal history starting next year.

Unquestionably, that is good news, especially given that college officials can find out about a truly problematic criminal past via other avenues.

Young people have futures replete with hope and opportunity. A criminal record can understandably mar their prospects. A proven criminal defense legal team that routinely represents juveniles can provide further information and diligent representation in a given case.

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