@Clarence: At the time of filling, my in-county refs had known me from 3 to 9 months (by now, it's 5 to 11). That's what seems to the problem. And while the out of state refs are technically meaningless, they were from 3 former prosecutors, a former judge, and a former detective. They've known me 5-15 years. Seeing as i did have five in-county refs also, i figured they would just be a little extra evidence of character and moral fitness.
@Lems: yep, i included the abstract. That wasn't brought up at all.