Opinion ID: 2005114
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Law School Application Inaccuracies

Text: Following Antonini's suspension from Syracuse University, Antonini applied to and was admitted to Creighton University School of Law. In his application to the law school, Antonini answered yes to the following question: Have you ever been convicted of any crime other than a minor traffic violation? (You must include all offenses involving alcohol. If you are not sure about the nature or the ultimate disposition of a particular charge, it is your responsibility to check with the courts before you answer.) The application requested that if an applicant answered yes to this question, the applicant was to attach a separate sheet giving the dates, cause, outcomes, and circumstances related to the event. On a separate sheet, Antonini referred the reader to his statement in a prior application to Creighton University School of Law, explaining events occurring before his earlier application. In his earlier application, Antonini answered no to the above-quoted question. Accordingly, there was no statement to which a reader could refer for an explanation of Antonini's conviction. At the hearing, Antonini testified that he had answered no to the question in his earlier application because he believed that because the convictions had been expunged, he had not been convicted. He also testified that he had not sought legal advice regarding what it meant to be convicted. With regard to the later application, Antonini testified that he answered yes to the question because he understood then that he had been convicted of the 1997 charges. He explained that in the later application, he referred to his earlier application for an explanation of the charges, even though he had answered no on that application because he thought that he had answered yes to the question in his earlier application. Patrick Borchers, dean of Creighton University School of Law, testified on Antonini's behalf regarding Antonini's applications to that school. Borchers testified that since Antonini had applied to the law school, the school has changed its application so that it now asks an applicant if he or she has ever been charged, even if that charge has been expunged. Borchers explained that the previous version of the application used by the law school, which asked applicants if they had ever been convicted of a crime, caused too many problems. This was because a minor offense may get expunged or dismissed, and there were many circumstances when applicants would answer no to the question in good faith and would subsequently have problems when they came before the Commission. When questioned by the Commission, however, Borchers testified that he did not learn the details of Antonini's convictions until approximately 1 to 2 weeks before the hearing, when he spoke with Antonini's attorney. Borchers also testified that at no time did Antonini come to him to request an amendment to his law school applications.