MIP in State of Michigan?
Question:
I'm currently a senior in high school with 3.85 GPA, president of NHS, student of the month, and an active member in the school. Also I've been accepted to Michigan State University and I'm planning on attending that school. What happened last night was due to poor judgement on my part. I've never been to a party and got that bad before. It was bad luck that the first time I did something stupid, the cops showed up. Questions:
1. Will my strong academic record help me with the judge during sentencing?
2. My parents are getting a lawyer to have this MIP be erase/not show up from my record. Will my school still be notify if it's off?
3. If this will be off my record, will it affect my admission to college or scholarship or financial aide?
Answer:
If your parents are hiring a lawyer, you need to have him ask the judge to allow you to withdraw your plea. You may end up pleading guilty later anyway, but being a juvenile, you should have been given a chance to talk to counsel of some kind before entering a plea. Talk with the lawyer about what type of diversion programs are in place in Michigan.
IN my experience, the judge will probablr allow you to enter a plea of guilty in exchange for court supervision. This means if you don't break the law again during the supervision period (probably 6-12 months) and pay all your fines and court costs, the charges will be dismissed. Michigan State will not be notified. They have to request that information, and if you've already been granted admission and scholarships, they don't have a reason to check again. You will need to list the arrest if you apply for graduate or professional school, assuming your lawyer can't get the arrest expunged. That process is relatively simple, but you will need a lawyer to handle the paperwork and court appearances.
In the end, the fact that you do have a good school record and plans to attend college should help you. I don't know the judge you're dealing with, but most I've known would cut you some slack if you make all your court dates and don't act cocky or give them attitude. Most important is that you don't get caught again. You may get one free pass, but judges don't generally hand out 3rd chances, even for the president of the NHS.
Definately throw yourself at the mercy of the judge- with your solid credentials- if the judge is half-decent he'll let it go with the minimum
What you want to pursue is an expungement of the record- but you may have to wait awhile to be eligible and even longer for it to be approved and then executed on.
I've only known personally situations where the person was between 18 and 21- so they were already legally an adult- in your case, your being a minor may help you significantly in your state-
Either which way- prepare for the worst and hope for the best- stick to the mea culpa line and most folks will cut you a break- just add a bit about what the experience taught you and how much you benefitted from the community service (whihc is what I assume you'll be sentenced to as well as a fine)
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