CHARGES AFFECT GRAD PROSPECTS

Records Trail Students Despite Exonerations

The Durham Police Department exonerated senior Eric Halperin less
than a month after he was arrested and charged with trafficking
marijuana and possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, but
his name always will remain under a cloud of suspicion on the world's
largest stage: the World Wide Web.

A Google search of the key words "Eric Halperin" and "Duke" returns
dozens of links related to the charges, ranging from news articles
charting the course of the case to blogs sounding off on DPD's
handling of the investigation.

"On the Internet, the fact of this charge is indelible and will never
be erased," said Bill Thomas, Halperin's lawyer. "There's an old
adage, 'Where do I go to get my reputation back?' The answer is
there's no place you can go."

Thomas said the charges could affect Halperin's immediate future as
he decides where he will attend law school. Applicants to graduate
and professional schools are required to disclose any criminal
charges filed against them, even if they have been dropped.

Halperin said he had applied and been accepted to several law schools
at the time of his arrest. He declined to confirm whether he has
since notified the institutions of his criminal record.

"[The charges are] not going to go away," Halperin said in an
interview with The Chronicle March 25. "They're jeopardizing my
chances of getting into law school... and my future profession."

William Hoye, associate dean for admissions and financial aid at the
School of Law, said he receives applications each year from
individuals who have been charged with felonies. When deciding
whether to admit these students, Hoye said the circumstances of the
crime are carefully considered, but a charge in and of itself usually
will not prevent an applicant from being admitted.

"Most applicants who get into trouble with this sort of thing in the
admissions process are those who fail to disclose," Hoye said. "The
lack of honesty is what gets them into trouble, rarely the actual
incident itself. For this reason, we always recommend that the
applicants err on the side of full disclosure."

Hoye added that the charges filed against Halperin could pose another
hurdle when he applies for membership to a bar association after he
has obtained a law degree. Bar associations subject candidates to
thorough background checks, and an individual could be denied a
license to practice law even if his record is pardoned by a law
school, Hoye said.

Halperin will not be the only Duke graduate explaining false
accusations in the coming months. Last year DPD arrested a
then-junior for drug trafficking and the attempted sale and
distribution of marijuana only to drop all charges just over a week
later. The student declined to comment for this story.

In light of the University's conduct during the lacrosse case and
suspension of the student charged last year immediately following the
arrest, Thomas said he was not optimistic that Duke would stand by
his client. He added that he was pleasantly surprised when the
University did not suspend Halperin during the investigation, despite
the fact that he had been charged with a felony.

"The University now understands the basic principles relating to the
presumption of innocence," Thomas said.

Thomas cited the experiences of his client, the student charged last
year and another Duke student-who was suspected of drug possession
but never formally charged-as evidence that DPD should rethink its
investigation procedures. Thomas said DPD charged the students before
amassing sufficient evidence, without regard for the impact of a
hasty arrest on their futures.

"The power to arrest is a tremendous power, but it also has a
corresponding duty to investigate thoroughly before exercising that
power," he said. "In this respect, [DPD] has failed. We have now had
three innocent students dragged out of their residences in handcuffs,
and I certainly hope that this does not happen to any other students."

DPD officials could not be reached for comment on their handling of the cases.

When Halperin leaves the Gothic Wonderland in May, Thomas said there
is little he can do to help him minimize the impact of the
accusations on Halperin's future.

"The only advice you can give to a young man like that is to hold
your head high and tell the truth, and that's what he's doing," Thomas said.