Bad Ideas, Crime, Law Schools, UVA Law, Weirdness

UVA Law Registrar Thief Pleads Guilty

Turns out that covering up a GPA you incorrectly reported is way more difficult than just putting in the work to get good grades in the first place...

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Why should you let bad grades get in the way of a good job?

Last year, we reported on the strange arrest of Joshua Gomes. Gomes was charged with breaking into the registrar’s office at UVA Law School and trying to steal a ream of transcript paper.

If you think that there’s only one reason that a person would want to steal transcript paper, you’re not going to be disappointed by Josh Gomes’s guilty plea. It’s that familiar story of a person popping his collar while wearing no pants….

The details of Gomes’s guilty plea confirm our suspicions. From the Daily Progress:

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Joe Platania submitted a written statement of facts to Judge Edward Hogshire for review.

“Gomes was conducting surveillance on the registrar’s office to determine their transcript printing/operating procedures. Gomes had a summer internship arranged with a large New York law firm,” according to the commonwealth’s evidence, which indicated that the firm was going to submit a transcript request on Dec. 8.

“Gomes was concerned about his actual grades being revealed and losing the internship since he had inaccurately reported his GPA. His goal was to intercept the transcript request.”

Doesn’t that sound like a high school student trying to “intercept” his report card before his mother checks the mail?

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On the one hand, you’d think the UVA Law stamp would be enough to get people jobs regardless of underwhelming grades. On the other hand, if breaking into the registrar’s office represents the quality of Gomes’s logical reasoning, maybe his grades were really bad.

The plea report doesn’t say which lucky employer was almost duped by Gomes’s deception. But they can’t be proud.

Perhaps his would-be firm will do a better job of looking at the character of new hires, instead of just their transcripts. Of course, it’s a whole lot easier to lie about what kind of person you are than it is to lie about the grades you got in law school.

Former UVa law student pleads guilty to breaking into registrar’s office [Daily Progress]

Earlier: UVA Law Student Arrested: Charged With Breaking and Entering

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