More than 1.2 million people were arrested for driving under the influence in 2011, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The rate of drunk driving is the highest among 21 to 25 year olds, but young teenagers are also commonly cited for driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.

When a teenager is arrested for drunk driving when he is still in high school, it can significantly interfere with his chances for a college education. A vigorous drunk driving defense is necessary to hopefully avoid conviction and a criminal record in order to maintain the best chance at getting into a college. Joseph Labella & Associates should be consulted after a teen is arrested for drunk driving or student accident for help achieving the best outcome after an arrest.

Many Colleges Consider Criminal Records in the Admissions Process

Avoiding conviction and a criminal record for drunk driving is essential for high school students because the majority colleges consider criminal records when determining whether to admit a student.

The Center for Community Alternatives believes the use of criminal records is troubling, especially as administrators are often not trained in how to effectively consider an arrest history. Further, many young people who have a history of arrest are not given an opportunity to explain themselves to the college admissions committee. One youthful mistake could shape the course of a young teens life if the college fails to give him a fair chance.

Unfortunately, this occurs far too often. A total of 273 institutions that are part of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers were surveyed by the Center for Community Alternatives. The administrators were asked 59 questions about the impact of criminal records on the college admissions process.

In total, 66 percent of the academic institutions indicated that they collected criminal justice data on potential candidates. Most of the schools that collect data on candidates’ criminal histories use the information on arrests and convictions when determining whether to admit a student to the school. Just 38 percent of responding institutions said that a criminal history did not play a role in their decision-making process when considering a candidate. The schools that did not consider a student’s criminal history were not any less safe in terms of crime statistics than schools that did take criminal records into account.

Unfortunately, many of the schools do not have written policies in place regarding how they will actually use the information obtained from criminal records. In addition, only 40 percent of the schools trained staff members about how to interpret information on arrest records or reports. Because of this, students could be disqualified from opportunities even for minor offenses.

A drunk driving arrest should not disrupt your child’s whole life. An experienced defense lawyer should be consulted as soon as possible to help respond to the charges and hopefully avoid a conviction and get an arrest record cleared.

Call Joseph Labella & Associates today at 800-395-5951 or visit http://www.texas-dwi-lawyers.com to speak with a Houston DUI defense lawyer.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2014 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Drunk Driving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.