Personal Statement: Personal Experience

My family was extremely upset with my mother and wept for my return. While in jail, I met many good people who had made bad decisions in their lives. I only ate cookies and Ramen noodles, and I drank water. For the first time in my life, I had an affectionate moment with God as I called out to Him. I knew that He was the only one that would get me through this situation. I can recall being shackled at my ankles and hands while being forced to walk to go to the court room for every hearing. I called my oldest sister, Francesca, on every opportunity. I was offered a plea deal of one year in prison and seven years of parole. All I could think about was going home and starting my senior year of high school. I prayed to God for guidance, and I told myself every day that I would soon go home. My father came to see me, and for the first time in my life, I saw him cry. He was extremely hurt, and he told me to stay strong. My family tried everything to pay my $40,000 dollar bond. I was soon left with two options: take the plea or go to trial. Thinking about my future, I was willing to take the plea, but only if it were probation. I had already missed a week of my senior year, and I just wanted to go home. The public defender spoke with the Judge about the First Offender Law, and the Judge lowered the plea to 7 years of probation. On September 21, 2012, I accepted the plea deal of seven years of probation, and I was released that night. My sister picked me up, and I lived with her for a few weeks before reporting to my probation officer. Wasting no time, I returned to school the next day. My peers had heard of the destruction, and my teachers were happy to see me. I became extremely depressed, and I wanted to run away. For the first time in my life, I was portrayed as a criminal. I regretted my actions, but I did not regret defending my

Notwithstanding what you may have heard, DUI cases don 't always lead to feelings. There may be various ways to challenge your DUI arrest, and speaking with an accomplished DUI attorney is the most ideal way to assess your case and determine if conceivable challenges may help you beat your charges and clear your record.

On December, 2009 and November, 2010 in my second year of college, I was arrested twice. At the time I was assigned a public defender; we reached an agreement with the prosecutor. I agreed to plead guilty to petty larceny, as part of the agreement I also had to do community service for a total of 15 days for both charges. After successfully completing all community service and stayed out of trouble; both misdemeanor charges were dismissed and expunged. During this time mentally distress and depress. As a result, my fall 2010 grades suffered. As illustrated in my transcript, up until this incident, my gpa had been 3.50 up until the fall 2012 semester.

Because Ms. Ceballos’s father was the lieutenant of the Hialeah Police Department, her uncle, and stepfather employed with the City of Miami Police Department, and her aunt employed with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I plead out to battery/strong-arm robbery and placed on probation for four years. I also completed a six-month domestic intervention program and two hundred hours of community service. Upon completing all my court mandated requirements my probation terminated successfully and two years early for good behavior. If her family was not so well connected to the judicial system, I might have tried to take this case to trial; however, I wasn’t one hundred percent confident that I could beat the case and did not want to expose

On December , I was arrested for 3rd degree criminal trespassing. That day I was heading to go see my dad at the hospital. He had suffered his second stroke and doctors wanted to talk about what is possible for him since he was hooked on machines and unable to move or communicate in anyway for himself, i was also his power of attorney so i would speak for him. I was focused on nothing more than seeing my dad, but first i had to drop off my friend’s shoes she had let me borrow. Along the way i saw a walmart and i had not eaten all day and thought i could go in to get some snacks and a smoothie for my dad. I called my friend to come pick me up at the walmart instead and drive me to the hospital. She didn 't live far so i thought by the time i came out the store she would have already been outside waiting for me, but that wasn 't the case. My phone had died at that point so i had no way of calling her to let her know where i would be, so i decided to sit in front of the store where she could see me since the bench inside was taken by a woman and her kids. 5 minutes later an officer came asking me what i was doing there. I explained to him that i was waiting for a friend to come pick me up and that she’ll be here soon. He said okay but then proceeded to ask me questions like how many times have I been arrested or how long i have been away from home or rather or not i bought the items in my bag. I didn 't understand why he was asking me all of those questions and began to feel

On August 28, 1998, 19 years ago I was charged with theft. At the time of the offense, I was a very immature 18 year old teenager going through some hardships at home my parents were planning on separating. At that time I started hanging out with the wrong crowd of people. Due to peer pressure it lead me to make wrong decisions that I still regret to this day. One of my so-called friend was working at K-Mart he mention to me that I should go by the store and buy some stuff and that he would not charge me for some of the merchandise in exchange of me getting some of things for him that he that he would have ready for me in the store. To make feel reassured he said, that he had done this with some of our other friends. So I was easily convinced and went by the store when he told me to go. When I got to the store he had two televisions ready for me to pick up (I never thought it was going to be televisions) I went up to the register and said, to follow him as we walked outside the store manager

The McDonald's all American, prom king, and voted most likely to succeed. This person had it all going for the future, but one mistake changed his life forever. On a night in the summer before going into college, he was partying with friends and he had been intoxicated and smoking marijuana. The group he was with decided to get food, they were driving drunk and in a car with a small amount of marijuana, with a pungent smell they hadn't noticed because they were consumed in it. The police pulled them over and the bag was in his pockets, he then proceeded to eat the marijuana, he thought he was in the clear but the officer had noticed and he then went from most likely to succeed, to a

I blew a .18 at the scene and at a .14/.15 at the station, the legal drinking limit is .08. Upon arriving to the Van Nuys Jail, I was taunting the officers about how I was innocent and did not consider myself a criminal; how they should be out in the streets catching the real criminals, instead of wasting their time with me. They told me I was a criminal, but I didn’t understand because I felt like I did nothing wrong and could have made it home just fine. I then was taken to the Van Nuys Jail, and left there overnight. As soon as I walked in I felt how cold the building was and how cold the officers were with me as well. They spoke to me with no respect and did not answer any questions I was asking them. All they did was toss me in jail cell along with 3 other ladies and said nothing. I was crying hysterically because I could not fathom what had just happened and was so disappointed in myself. I turn to my left and I see an older lady on the phone crying. She is talking to what I assume was her relative and telling them she doesn’t know if her brother is alive, that he was admitted into the emergency hospital and to go check up on

You shouldn’t have to suffer over something you didn’t do even if people disagree. It is ok for officers and other people involved in the case to question you but they can't make you stay in jail or give you a sentence because they do not know the real answer. This takes time people need to keep looking into this case and find witnesses who have accurate information that will be helpful and that will also be willing to testify. Until the case is done you are free but it all depends on if you are telling the truth or not. Certain consequences may end your life and others will only give you an amount of time in prison but it depends on how big the problem is. Therefore, you are not proven guilty

Shortly after the trial, I got released to be free from police bail conditions and was then single due to the burglary case.

By 3:00am my life had inexorably changed forever. I was charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI). I spent four seemingly endless hours in jail. I went home and started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, what kind of path I wanted to take. I knew that I was in trouble, but my mind was preoccupied with matters far more serious than not being able to drive for one year. I was terrified that my arrest would affect my ability to study in the United States as an international student and derail my future forever.

On April 12th, 2014, at the age of nineteen, I was arrested and accused of Minor in Possession of Alcohol during a Braves game in Atlanta, GA. I accepted Pre-trial intervention at the advice of a public defender. I paid $50 and completed an Alcohol Education Program that helped me realize the gravity of my actions. I completed sixty hours of community service at the Oconee Humane Society. On August 5th, 2014, the accusation was discharged to completely exonerated me of any criminal purpose and the record was ordered to be restricted.

Given the circumstances, I believe the punishment ($500 fine) I received was too harsh. The night of the incident was my first time trying Alcohol. When I was invited to the room of the incident I was unaware that drinking would be involved. To my understanding we were all casually hanging out. After immense pressure from the group I caved and tried alcohol for the first time. After hating the taste of the drink I had been pressured into consuming, I realized what I had done was wrong.

I was told that you may be having a difficult Christmas this year, and that it may be more depressing than in years past. Being arrested for a felony and booked into jail is extremely daunting. That alone has ended any aspirations you may have had towards being in a law enforcement position of any kind. Having the possibility of being a convicted felon and serving jail time can certainly and understandably lead a person to have a difficult and depressing Christmas. Add the chance that you will likely be expelled from college, and happiness will be difficult to find. It can also lead you to have a negative outlook on the New Year. After all, every year of your life seems to be surrounded with negative events. Those who have been closest to you,

At the court hearing, the judge went over my criminal charges, gave me an attorney, and increased my bail up to one million dollars since I was found guilty. The judge found me guilty of a felony for marijuana cultivation. That’s not the worst part. I was facing 20 years in prison. This was an extremely harsh reality for someone who had never been to prison before. I had no idea of what to expect and would be lying if I said I wasn 't at least a little bit nervous.