Understanding clients’ criminal histories is critical for immigration practitioners to properly advise and represent their clients. Depending on the outcomes of arrests by law enforcement, clients may be inadmissible, deportable, or barred from certain relief or showing good moral character. But reading criminal background checks, or “rap sheets,” criminal court case reports, and dispositions can be difficult and confusing. During this panel, presenters will give practical tips and tricks to decipher many of the most common criminal records in clients’ cases, as well as what to look for in doing additional state law research.