Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft 18, California, shoplifting at my university bookstore

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finesse

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Today I was cited for shoplifting textbooks at my college. I am a sophomore honors student that is currently taking 17 units and working a part-time job to support myself with car insurance, gas, food, tuition, books, etc. Never had any marks on my record, never been arrested or had to be at court, never even had a traffic violation. With this said, I know my actions are unjustifiable and that due process is necessary.

Onto why I am here. I have never been in front of a school committee panel or at a court hearing. The latter is what concerns me most. I know I will be notified from my school regarding my committee meeting date, but I am not so sure how the procedure goes for court hearings. Will I receive a mail letter? A phone call? Will I need a lawyer (I plan to plead guilty if it will lessen my sentence)? Anything will help, regardless if it is about court hearings or school committee meetings. And yes, I know I messed up today. :(

Also, could I beg my school board to not press charges? My hearing is on November 1st (denoted on the slip the officer gave me), and my board meeting should be within 2 weeks.

Thanks for any advice.
 
Sorry if there is a rule on double-posting, but I forgot to mention that I heard something about a dollar amount difference between a misdemeanor and a violation. The price of the 2 books I stole were around a combined 100 dollars.
 
Admin said:
Start calling Lawyers many offer free consultations. Ask these lawyers about Diversion as plea option
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Thanks, I will check this out. I was cited today, and given a copy of a report that says my hearing is on November 1st. Will they send me a mail letter or a telephone call? If so, what is a rough timeline I can expect this to arrive? Reason I am asking is because I still live with my parents and there is no way I can do this to them.
 
Admin said:
If you have not gotten any letter about court how is it you know court date?
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The LA country officer at the scene gave me a yellow slip of paper titled "notice to appear" detailing my profile and my code 484 violation. On it, there is a signature I signed that agrees to the following:

Without admitting guilt, I promise to appear at the time and place indicated below.

Following this is the date and address of a court appointment.
 
Upon reading the back of the yellow slip, it says that a courtesy notice may be mailed to the address shown on my citation. Any idea how long this usually takes? Also, the slip he gave me looks like a traffic violation case, as I was reading the back and it was talking alot about traffic school and the probability of car insurance fee increases. This doesn't apply to me right?
 
Then I doubt you get any letter as your citation is your notification of court date and your signature acknowledges that. However you can expect a letter of Civil Demand from a law firm in the coming days or weeks
 
Admin said:
Then I doubt you get any letter as your citation is your notification of court date and your signature acknowledges that. However you can expect a letter of Civil Demand from a law firm in the coming days or weeks
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I'm guessing this is essentially lawyers trying to offer their services to me?
Also, I did a little research on the diversion option. Is a defender absolutely necessary in order to partake in this option? I realize that depending on the judge's agenda, she may not even offer the option to me. On the other side of things, I am an honors student with a 3.7GPA at my college and believe that the committee will probably let me go with a slap on the wrist. If I can get them to drop charges, do I still need to be at the court on the date and location specified?
 
Wrong! Civil Demand is a civil fine state law permitsw retailers to seek. The retailers pays a law firm or service to collect these funds. Failure to pay can carry severe consequences. Far as your research goes. thats great but your not a Lawyer and your attempting to deal with legal matters without one. That would be unwise in my view
 
Admin said:
Wrong! Civil Demand is a civil fine state law permitsw retailers to seek. The retailers pays a law firm or service to collect these funds. Failure to pay can carry severe consequences. Far as your research goes. thats great but your not a Lawyer and your attempting to deal with legal matters without one. That would be unwise in my view
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Well, the place I stole from was a college bookstore, not exactly a retailer, so do you have any idea the chances that a college would be associated with civil demands? And yeah, you're completely right about me not being a lawyer. But from what I've heard from others with some experience with misdemeanors, I wouldn't need a lawyer anyway because I've been told that I would simply wait in a room with a bunch of other people waiting to talk to the judge. Please tell me if I am sounding naive, but I don't want to make this situation too complicated with lawyers and fees and whatnot.
 
You asked us we told you its not advisible to pursue this with out a lawyer! You make the call but our advice is hire a Lawyer or request Public Defender. Far as Civil Demand goes your not the first to steal froma bookstore nor the last. I am sure they are very aware of their Civil Demand rights under the law
 
Admin said:
You asked us we told you its not advisible to pursue this with out a lawyer! You make the call but our advice is hire a Lawyer or request Public Defender. Far as Civil Demand goes your not the first to steal froma bookstore nor the last. I am sure they are very aware of their Civil Demand rights under the law
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Okay, makes sense. I will report back with more if the situation changes. Thanks for everything.
 
So after dealing with the university, they have decided to assign me 10 hours of community service as a punishment. I tried going to the director of the book store to drop the criminal charges, but unfortunately, she was not willing. As such, I am prepared to go to numerous free consultations from lawyers within the next 7 days to see my legal options. Since the misdemeanor was committed on August 31st, I assume the D.A. has already received the report (after calling the local police department, they confirmed that this is probably the case). What type of information should I get from the courthouse to bring to a lawyer? All I have is the booking number and file number from a ticket the officer gave me on the day of the citing. I have not received any mail letters yet. I feel like there is more to know...
 
Admin said:
Your likely looking at petty theft charge. Even without penal code the Lawyer(s) should still be able to advise you
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Forgive me if I am misinterpreting you, but are you saying that the lawyers can't do much except advise me now? I remember a mention of a diversion plea, but is it too late for that now (mandatory court date is november 1st)? All of this District Attorney stuff and the procedures that they go through is over my head.

My basic question is that at this point is what can an attorney do for me? And I am not sure what you mean "without penal code." The Code and Section on my ticket says 484, but you might be referring to something else.
 
I just got an e-mail back from a lawyer with the following message:

As a general rule, the District Attorney will NOT talk to you before your Pre-trial date (second court appearance) but may possibly at your arraignment- first court appearance. But for the most part will NOT talk to you on the phone. If you have an attorney, you will NOT have to appear at your arraignment, as the attorney can appear for you. Since we are experienced in these types of matters, if retained, we can deal with the District Attorney at your Pre-trial hearing and attempt to get the matter reduced to an infraction or sent to the diversion program. You have a MUCH greater chance with a private attorney representing you.
Our flat fee retainer to represent you on this type of matter is usually $2,500 but since you are a student, I can do it for $1,500.00 and that covers everything up to, but NOT including trial, if your case were to go to trial. We accept cash, check, Visa and MasterCard.
Please let me know if we can assist. Thank you.

Is this completely true? How often do these things go to trial if it is a first offense? What does he mean by "retained?" And finally, is this a good deal? (Sounds good to me)
 
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