Need to get lawyer for first time petty theft?

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pcfcnw

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If a citation with court date was given at time of arrest and court date coming very soon, do I need to contact a lawyer before I go to court date?

Also, I read somewhere here on the forum that someone had one their own contacted the prosecutor prior to court date??

California
 
You have to expand on some of these questions. Why would you want to contact the prosecution. They are not on your side. If you want legal advice or to hire a lawyer, you should do so as soon as you can. If you haven't done so before you're arraignement and you want to hire one, do so now. They won't be able to get all of the information on you until right before or soon after your arraignment anyway.
 
in a similar type issue - petty theft, the person had called the store and apparently paid or made arrangements to pay back and then contacted the prosecutor to tell him and at arraignment he told judge and charges were dismissed ???????
 
Oh ok, I didn't knw the circumstances of your dilemma. Yes, if you can call the store manager and ask him to pay for the merchandise, that will look much better on your behalf. However, the judge will likely make you pay it anyway. They'll likely put you on Pre-trail intervention and it won't show up on your record.
 
a couple of questions - even tho the store got back all the merchandise, I still have to pay for the merchandise? It is listed as petty theft on citation but it was actually price change which I guess is basically the same??

Now if I call the store and pay them, one, will the judge make me pay again so I am paying twice? ANd how would I pay the store if I had to say I would never go back to the store??

And, do I need to have a lawyer at the court date?

If I contact the store and pay, should I contact prosecutor and let him know what I did?

Will I still have to state a plea at the court date?
 
I did try to explain my lack of judgement for that night and did try to pay right then after being caught but the store police or whatever you what to call him told me I'd better be quiet cause I was making him mad.

When I call store manager, would I just say I had had an issue with the store and wanted to make payment and give my name?
 
Okay, if they got the merchandise back then there is nothing more you can do for the store and if you call them, they are likely going to tell you that it's between you and the courts now. So, the courts will require you to pay a fine for the theft. If I were you, before I went to court, I'd call the D.A.'s office and request to be put on PTI (pre-trial interventiong). This way when you appear in court, the clerk will call your name and give you a paper for you to sign agreeing to PTI. Then on your next court date your given, the judge will likely give you a fine, community service and perhaps 1 year probation. If you are good during that time, the charge will be removed from your record.
 
the store did not lose any merchandise because they approached me after I had checked out and walked out of the store; some items had had price changing, others had not.
I was given back the monies I had paid and they got back all their merchandise.

shall I still try to call the store and see what they say?

so if I call DA to request the PTI - one, will they always allow this? two, will I have to enter any plea at the first court date? three, how long before next court date? four, any chance for dismissal?

appreciate your guidance
 
cmlzip - when you are required to pay a fine - how long do you have to pay it? can you make payments?

after you sign a PTI, what procedures take place from there?

sorry for all these questions - momentary lack of judgement has me scared.

what kind of community service do you give?

probaton - does that restrict you from visiting relatives in other states, etc or is it just a watch to see if you commit any other issues? these issues, just major one? What if you got a traffice ticket ?
 
pcfcnw said:
the store did not lose any merchandise because they approached me after I had checked out and walked out of the store; some items had had price changing, others had not.
I was given back the monies I had paid and they got back all their merchandise.

shall I still try to call the store and see what they say?

so if I call DA to request the PTI - one, will they always allow this? two, will I have to enter any plea at the first court date? three, how long before next court date? four, any chance for dismissal?

appreciate your guidance
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1. They usually allow this for first time offenders, especially misdemeanors so I see no problem there.
2. Well, if you request PTI and they give it to you, you won't have to make a plea. However if you are not able to get on PTI then you will have to plead. Always plead not guilty at your arraignment.
3. Next court date is usually 2-3 months
4. Sure there is a chance of dismissal but you have to fight the case totally and win! The prosecution has to fail to prove their case against you. How'd they catch you? did you actually leave the store with the goods or were you still inside when they caught you?
 
pcfcnw said:
cmlzip - when you are required to pay a fine - how long do you have to pay it? can you make payments?

after you sign a PTI, what procedures take place from there?

sorry for all these questions - momentary lack of judgement has me scared.

what kind of community service do you give?

probaton - does that restrict you from visiting relatives in other states, etc or is it just a watch to see if you commit any other issues? these issues, just major one? What if you got a traffice ticket ?
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Being that it is a misdemeanor, just ask the judge if you can be put on a reasonable payment plan.

After put on PTI, you just ride out the details of the PTI contract.

As for community service, most cities have a list of places you can do your community service or you can get on the sheriff's bus every weekend for 8 hours with others and knock it out. Try to get on with a local fire station.

probation-- There are 2 types of probation. 1 is supervised and 1 is unsupervised. Unsupervised is likely what you'll be on and you just stay out of trouble. Supervised is where you have to check in with a probation officer once a month. Regardless of the type, you must request permission to leave the state as long as you are on probation. They will need to know where you're going, license plate of the vehicle, where you're staying and with whom.. Traffic tickets won't count against you only criminal matters. People here say they do, but I've never heard of a judge revoking someone's probation for traffick tickets, unless it's a DWI, which is a criminal offense anyway.
 
just called local DA office, the girl said didn't know what PTI was, I spelled it out, she put me on hold, and came back and said they don't do anything like that thru that local office. IS that right? Do I need to contact a lawyer? IS PTI well known throughout the 50 states?
I'm on hold for the county DA office down below.
 
pcfcnw said:
just called local DA office, the girl said didn't know what PTI was, I spelled it out, she put me on hold, and came back and said they don't do anything like that thru that local office. IS that right? Do I need to contact a lawyer? IS PTI well known throughout the 50 states?
I'm on hold for the county DA office down below.
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Ask them about pre-trial intervention. If need be, set up an appointment to speak with the D.A. It's no big deal. This is a normal occurrence for their office.
 
so first I should try to speak directly with DA and ask for pre trial intervention and if no help there, then contact ANY public defender's office with help to assist with PTI???
 
Did you get a lawyer

i agree with others here, contacting the DA's office yourself is a bad idea, they will try to steamroll you, its their job.

Hire a lawyer, best money you'll ever spend.
 
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