CRIMINAL COMPLAINT AGAINST STATE CHAMPION HOCKEY PLAYER AND HONOR STUDENT FOR USING FAKE I.D. TO PURCHASE ALCOHOL DISMISSED AT CLERK’S HEARING

Client, 17 year-old high school senior, was charged with using a fake I.D. to purchase alcohol at a liquor store. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 90, § 8H prohibits the use of forged identification cards.

Result: At a Clerk Magistrate Hearing, Attorney Patrick J. Noonan persuaded the Clerk-Magistrate and the Police Prosecutor to dismiss the criminal complaint against his 17 year-old client. Client was a senior in high school. He was a member of the National Honor Society. He is graduating in the top 15% of his class. He scored 1340 on his SATs. He was the Captain of a junior hockey team that won the State Championship. Client is applying to several top colleges and universities in New England. Because the criminal complaint was dismissed at the Clerk’s Hearing, the client has a clean criminal record.

Having a criminal record poses a serious problem for students applying for admission to colleges and universities. The Common Application used by more than 600 institutions asks students certain questions about their criminal history. However, the U.S. Department of Education is urging schools to remove questions about a student’s criminal record in the early stages of college applications. The Common Application for the upcoming school year will still ask whether students have been found guilty of a misdemeanor or felony but will remove part of the question asking about any other crimes. “The Common Application used for college admissions at more than 600 institutions is changing a question it asks about students criminal records, as the U.S. Department of Education urges schools to drop the question altogether.” Christine Armario, Associated Press (2016)