According to the ABA Journal, Chelsea Nichole Madill pleaded guilty in August 2019 to drug trafficking charges. This usually results in five years in federal prison. Madill was sentenced to a $100 fine and probation.

She was however ordered to complete law school.

Madill, according to the criminal complaint was a member of a drug-trafficking group. The complaint calls it a "DTO", but I will call it a "gang." Madill was allegedly seen by agents at McAllen, Texas, in March 2018. They saw Madill oversee the loading of a truck which was later discovered to have nearly 30 kilos cocaine. According to cell phone records, Madill allegedly called the Mexican leader of the gang and traveled to Mexico to meet him after the seizure. Later, she was arrested in Florida and charged with cocaine possession as well as conspiracy with intent to distribute.

Madill pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy after the government filed the complaint in January 2019. The court did not enter the judgment until January 2019. Madill was sentenced to five days of time served, three years probation and a $100 fine. Madill was sentenced to time served, three years probation and $100 fine under "Special Condition of Supervision."

The docket contains a lot of information that is sealed. This includes a motion for downward departure from the sentencing guidelines as well as the "statement to reasons" filed with final judgment. It does reveal that the court delayed sendingencing several times after the 2019 plea deal. My extensive knowledge of criminal procedure, derived almost entirely from Law & Order, leads me to believe that sentencing was delayed because the investigation was still ongoing.

Did it include law school? The judgment says that the defendant must "continue" to pursue a J.D. It appears that it did. The Journal also discovered this message from the President of the Student Bar Association of Florida A&M University, mascot: the rattlesnake, welcoming the new class for the 2022/23 school year. As the 2L representative of the SBA, a "Chelsea Madill", is mentioned in the list. If this were the same person, she would have entered law school in fall 2021 but would not have finished it.

The report received a variety of reactions. Some expressed outrage at the possibility that a drug dealer would be able to get away with it, while others were happy that a defendant who was charged with a nonviolent crime has a chance to make a difference in her life. Another speculated that the defendant might have offered to go to law school in order to get a lighter sentence but may lose interest in becoming a Rattler for Justice (not mine, the term of SBA president). According to this view, the judge's order is intended to stop any backsliding. The judge's order would not require the defendant to pass the bar exam. However, she would still need to complete the moral-character assessment.

As you probably know, a conviction for a felony doesn't automatically disqualify someone from becoming a lawyer. However, some felonies might. You can see, for example, "Convicted Killer Heads Back to Law School" (Sept. 1st 2011, discussing a student who was on parole after stabbing a man 33 times. However, passing the bar and a thorough moral-character assessment does not guarantee that the lawyer who is a result will be honest, even if they have no criminal records. You can see, e.g. "Disgraced Lawyer's Crocodile Shoes Sold For $1062" (Sept. 20, 2022). Oh, no. Not at all. You can see that it is an entire category. It's a hoot to think that it might. Let's just see what happens. You will never know.