There is an interesting case at my alma mater, Northwestern University School of Law, where a former student is suing over his expulsion shortly before his graduation. The student is Mauricio Celis, 42, and he was expelled for not disclosing that he is a former felon in Texas who was convicted for falsely holding himself out as a lawyer as well as a misdemeanor conviction of portraying himself as a police officer in a bizarre case involving a woman who wandered nude from his hot tub and walked into a convenience store. Celis objects that Northwestern expelled him for the failure to disclose but that it never asked him to disclose any criminal history when he applied for his master of laws. After suing Northwestern, Celis and Northwestern agreed to a voluntary dismissal of the suit.
The case is obviously embarrassing for Northwestern which appeared to do no inquiry into the history of the applicant who was infamous in Texas and called “The Great Pretender.” Indeed, a prosecutor called him “the biggest con man in the history of Nueces County.” Before he was nabbed, he ran offices in eight cities, including Beverly Hills, Miami, and Mexico City. He was a major Democratic donor with contributions of nearly half a million dollars to Democratic political campaigns from 2002 to 2007.
His past difficulties include a long series of fraudulent representations, flashing a pistol during an argument with the owner of a local strip club, breaking into a girlfriend’s apartment and flashing an expired reserve deputy’s badge in three different encounters with police. Here is an account of the hot tub incident that gives a glimpse into Celis:
The position of Northwestern is that Celis should have known that his criminal history was material. Yet, the school did not require the information and took his money for the educational program. Indeed, he spent about $76,000 on the program and the school presumably kept the money and tossed him shortly before graduation.
The failure to even google the applicant shows how schools continue to rely on an “honors system” even among the top law programs in the country. Northwestern came within weeks of giving an advance degree to the “Great Pretender” of Texas.
Of course, the graduation would have made for a classic procession tune.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Annie, I realize you and Paul have almost as much history as Sylvia Plath, but I did not take his 1:13 moment as anything other than a truism.
Laser, you are an optimist, I see.
I think this argument is tilted and pompous.
Anyone who pays has the right to an education.
(Especially in legal prowess).
States (such as her in CA) permit prior felons BAR status;
solely upon their coming fully clean in application thereof.
Ha Ha
Now now Annie, let’s not dig
(especially when Paul may finally see the light of his bias)
Paul, your comment @1:13 is either an attempt to bait me or incredibly condescending. I suggest you step back, before we both end up getting deleted today.
saucy – didn’t Sylvia commit suicide?
Don’t most lawyers wait until they pass the bar and start working before they commit felonies?
Even if he cannot take the bar exam, having a J.D. after his name would be an asset regardless of whether he works for MSNBC, Fox News, or the Huffington Post.
issac
He would have made a great lawyer, hands on experience from both sides, humungous balls, and probably totally devoid of ethics, a great lawyer.
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His cousin made it through.
In the law school my daughter went to, Florida State, I recall her sweating an underage drinking ticket from undergrad. It is difficult to understand why Northwestern didn’t require a background check.
I don’t like this guy and I don’t think he should be in law school.
But if they did not ask they have no complaint.
The charge that he should have known to disclose rings hollow. They are the law school with lawyers on staff, and lawyers advising them.
If they did not ask that can only reflect the informed judgment of their advisers that such information is not relevant. Why should the student be expected to know better than practicing lawyers advising the school?
This is an easy decision. He gets to finish his degree and it is up to the bar to decide if he ever gets to practice.
on 1, June 19, 2014 at 1:13 pmPaul C. Schulte
Annie – misrepresenting anything is probably not honorable.
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Paul, I’m glad you finally had this epiphany. 🙂
Annie – have you had the same epiphany?
I had that epiphany when I was age 5 Paul, but it’s better late than never, hmmm?
That whole crazy story sounds like the screenplay to Pulp Fiction. Yikes!
John, misrepresenting what Clinton was laughing about on that tape isn’t exactly honorable.
Annie – misrepresenting anything is probably not honorable.
leejcaroll, speaking of honor, a tape in the media recorded Hillary laughing about successfully representing the rapist of a 12-year old girl. No “war on women” there; after heading the Bill Clinton anti-Bimbo squad for decades, nothing but honor on display from the “Enabler in Chief.” Hill’s a lawyer, right?
Al – they did say he was a big contributor to the Democratic Party and that probably makes him a special category at Northwestern.
They would not have hired him at Walmart. But he gets into Northwestern Law School.
sad but also true Annie
He would have made a great lawyer, hands on experience from both sides, humungous balls, and probably totally devoid of ethics, a great lawyer.
Honor is in short supply in many different professions, sadly.
Law schools are desperate right now, so they cannot be too picky.
Jonathan – what does “flossing an expired reserve deputy’s badge” have to do with going to law school? 😉
Law schools relying on an “honors ” system In my sad experience that is an oxymoron.