Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Larceny In the Sixth degree, what happens to me?

The state or country I am talking about is: Connecticut

Hey guys, as of today i was caught shoplifting $40 worth of stuff. I am 21 years old and a student. I really have no idea what goes on now, or what i do. They said it was larceny in the sixth degree, and its a misdemenor and they gave me a court date. What exactly happens when i show up? Is there anything i need to know? I have heard of people getting it reduced to an infraction or something about accelerated pretrial rehabilitation? I am really in the dark guys, so if you could just tell me what to expect or any advice it would be much appreciated. This is my first anything on my record, i have never been arrested before or ticketed or anything, so i just need some help. THANK YOU!!

hey mogie,

I live in Texas and was caught with $20 worth of stuff a few years ago at age 19. You basically show up in court, you sit and wait a long time though other people talking to the judge, then you talk to her and she acts like you are some kind of sewer sludge and you pay the court costs and you can pay the big ole' fine or do community service, get defferred adjudication (don't know if it's the same in different states, but i figure TX got to be the worst place to get caught doing anything). I also had to pay $50 for this dumb at home course about what is shoplifing and why it's wrong and horrible to get the deffered sentance (which is supposed not to show up on your record, if you don't do anything bad for a couplpe months). Also Texas has this annoying law i wrote the post called "shoplifting" about, that they can harras you in civil court, too. I don't really understand that one. Mostly, you are probably all freaking out and feel all embarrased right now, but this is really not a very big deal and you are not a bad person. I'm not some kind of expert, I'm just here to tell you to take deep breaths, you will laugh about it eventually.

Thank you!

Thanks a lot, i really appreciate it. I really do feel ebarassed about it, i just want to get this thing done with. It was such a stupid thing and looking back i have no idea why i did, but my mistake is done. Anyways, thanks for the reply, i really do thank you!
Mark

One more thing

I forgot to say one thing, in response to that deferred adjudication, is that something they will do anyways for me? Or do i have to ask for it? like i said this is my first mark on my record and i was just curious how i go about this, and when do you ask for it exactly in court? Sorry if i have a lot of questions, i just want to go about this correctly. Thanks!

Getting the best they can offer

I was caught shoplifting $19 worth of stuff at Wal-mart in Louisiana a month ago.

I spoke to two defense attorneys and decided to hire one. It cost me $750 to hire him. I paid $200 to Wal-mart for their civil demand. The advantage of hiring a lawyer is that he can deal with the prosecutor for you. He is going to try to get me the best outcome, which is pretrial diversion, where I will have to meet a diversion counselor on a weekly basis for I think 3 months, and avoid trial and thus a criminal record (because almost no one is found not guilty in court for shoplifting). But there are a range of penalties, and it's possible that you can be convicted and have a criminal record. I stole to save money, but now I'm paying out my ass to avoid a criminal record. It really isn't worth it, unless of course you're planning to go ahead and steal a bunch of stuff again and make up for the $1000+ in defense and court costs. If you get caught again, though, you don't get a break.

When to get deferred adjudication

Your first court date is the arraignment, where you plea. If you plea nolo contendere or guilty, you get sentenced, and you have a criminal record. If you plea not guilty, you will have a trial date set and the prosecutor will plea bargain with you before that trial.

If you get a lawyer, he can start working on your case, contacting the prosecutor's office, before arraignment. He can try to get you deferred adjudication. Lawyers know what's going on, so if you don't want to take risks and you can afford one, you should think about it as soon as possible. You can always find a lawyer who gives free consultations and ask him what you should be doing.