For all the University of Miami students and parents out there a fairly new program is available which you should be aware.  Its called ULEAD, which stands for University Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program.  This is a joint venture of sorts between the University of Miami and the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office which will allow students charged with certain crimes (right now just marijuana and paraphernalia possession and false ID cases) to completely avoid ever being arrested or formally charged in court with a crime.  The benefits of this program are enumerable because the student’s name will never be associated with a crime or an arrest in the public record!  You can read here about the numerous problems that arise with criminal records even after a criminal case is dismissed.

Once a student is caught with marijuana, for example, he will be offered the ULEAD program.  He will have to complete numerous conditions including community service, a drug class, going to tour the court and the jail, and paying a fine.  You can read further about the genesis of the program and the parameters in this article.

In general, this is a great program that benefits the student enormously and shows the University has some insight and compassion in these situations.