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In re Application of Silva for Admission to the Nebraska State Bar on Examination7/18/2003
Alberto Silva appeals a decision of the Nebraska State Bar Commission (Commission) denying his application to take the July 2002 Nebraska bar examination. Silva contends that the Commission erred in concluding that he did not meet the character and fitness requirements for admission.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Silva was born on September 11, 1964. He is divorced and resides in Omaha with his minor daughter. From August 1991 until May 1995, Silva attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Silva majored in Spanish and criminal justice and received a bachelor of arts degree summa cum laude upon his graduation in 1995. Silva applied to Creighton University School of Law and was accepted in 1999. He graduated with a juris doctor degree in May 2002.
On his law school admission application, Silva gave an affirmative response to a question asking if he had "ever been convicted of any crime other than a minor traffic violation." As instructed in the application form, he attached a separate sheet listing the "dates, cause, outcomes, and circumstances" pertaining to his criminal convictions. This document disclosed that during a period from October 1988 until January 1995, Silva was convicted in the State of Colorado on misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace, criminal mischief, fight by mutual consent (twice), consuming alcohol on state property, littering, driving while intoxicated, and third degree assault. Each conviction resulted in a fine ranging from $25 to $200, as well as probation and a license suspension on the driving while intoxicated conviction.
On or about March 26, 2002, Silva applied for admission by examination to the Nebraska bar. He responded affirmatively to a question on the application form which asked: "Have you ever, either as an adult or a juvenile, been cited, arrested, charged or convicted for a violation of any law (except moving traffic violations . . . and except minor parking violations)?" As instructed in the application, Silva attached forms providing detailed information concerning this response. These forms listed the convictions which Silva had disclosed on his law school application, plus 10 additional Colorado misdemeanor convictions preceding the date of that application. These included a conviction for third degree assault in 1979; three convictions for being a minor in possession in 1981, 1982, and 1983; a conviction on charges of flight to avoid arrest in 1982; a conviction for operating a motor vehicle to avoid arrest in 1983; two convictions in 1992 and 1993 for having no proof of insurance; a 1993 conviction for failing to stop and furnish information; and convictions for third degree assault and domestic violence in December 1995. In addition, Silva disclosed that he had been found not guilty on Nebraska charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct in April 2000 and convicted in Nebraska of driving under the influence in December of that year.
At about the time that Silva completed his application for admission to the bar, he informed Creighton University School of Law that he had given an incomplete account of his prior criminal history on his law school admission application. At the same time, Silva disclosed that he had previously applied unsuccessfully for admission to other law schools, but because of a misunderstanding, he had unintentionally omitted that fact when he responded to a question on the application form. Silva admitted to Creighton University School of Law officials that he intentionally omitted some of his misdemeanor convictions from his law school admission application because he feared that full disclosure would result in rejection of his application. After meeting to consider the infor
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