What can I do if I have a court date for a theft charge? 65 Answers as of November 14, 2011

Privately retain a lawyer to plead Not Guilty and try to get you into a diversionary program to keep your record clean.

Try to get in to a diversion program so that you can get the case dismissed.

Do not enter any plea without speaking to your attorney.

You should have an attorney advise you based on the evidence against you. For such a small amount there is a good possibility that at least the matter should be reduced to a misdemeanor.

Normally, if it' your first time, a decent lawyer should be able to get you an ACD (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal), and so long as you take a one day class on the evils of shoplifting the case e will be dismissed six months thereafter. Under this arrangement you would not have to plea to the charge and you would have no record that remains with you in the future.

There are pleas you can make that will remain clear of your record if you complete the requirement.

Don't plead guilty without having a criminal defense lawyer completely review everything and seek the best possible outcome for your case.

They do not appoint lawyers in J.P or municipal courts because there is no chance of incarceration. You must hire a lawyer. You do not want to do anything worse than plead to a deferred prosecution / deferred disposition so that the case can be expunged in the future after successful completion.

Contact a good lawyer and let him know all the facts. That is the best way to make sure you are not convicted if you can avoid it.

In Virginia you are not required to enter a plea before you speak to a lawyer. But if there is no jail time expected then you do not qualify for a free court appointed lawyer and need to hire your own.

Get a lawyer or the public defender. Do not try to handle this yourself.

If you were not arrested and cuffed and had a mug shot taken, you should not have to worry about having a record which is traceable. however, if in doubt as to how to proceeed, ask the judge to appoint a public defender, and he can possibly work out a resolution of the case which will benefit you the most.

If you want to come to some plea arrangement, you can actually hire an attorney right now, and have them come to a plea deal with you on your court date. If you cannot afford an attorney, and many attorneys are surprisingly reasonable when it comes to a case like this, then at your hearing, you should plead not guilty, and request that the judge appoint you an attorney to represent you in the matter. If this is your first offense, and for a value as low as $10.00, you should be able to get an ACD offered, which stands for "Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal." This essentially means that if you stay out of trouble for 6 months following your plea, then the charge will be dismissed, and you won't have to deal with this staying on your record.

Depending on the county where you have to go to court, you may end up with the case being dismissed. When you go to court ask them to appoint a lawyer if you cannot afford to hire one yourself. Do not plead guilty to anything.

Contact an attorney. Going in by yourself is dangerous and unwise. An attorney will know the best way to fight the case and perhaps get it dismissed, such as through diversion. The failure to address this matter now can have life-long repercussions.

It all depends on facts and your history. If you have no record you may be able to seek diversion or get charge placed on file. If you plea not guilty at arraignment you will have more time to hire a lawyer. I find a lawyer is normally able to avoid a conviction or get a better deal.

You should not plead guilty to anything. Hold out for an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal" (an "ACD"), unless you can get an outright dismissal.

You need a criminal attorney. An attorney can spot weaknesses in the case that you would never see and knows how to navigate the system and comply with all procedures. Also, the prosecutor will probably not speak with you directly so no plea bargaining will happen unless you have a lawyer. They will appoint one if you cannot afford it.

The charges of criminal possession of stolen property and petit larceny are the charges that you are most likely facing. Retain an lawyer to protect you from being forced from accepting a permanent criminal record. There are also other consequence in accepting a guilty plea. Your case should be very easy to resolve if you retain the right law firm. Because of budget cuts and the spike in crime the legal aid attorneys are inundated with work which puts all of their clients in a vulnerable position.

My advice: NEVER plead guilty. If you do so, then it limits the possible plea options that you might have. Your first appearance is the arraignment. Plead "Not Guilty". The court will then assign you a public defender if you cannot afford to hire one. If you do not qualify for a public defender, my advice - retain the services of an attorney. A criminal conviction can have far reaching consequences; employment and school issues.

Just ask the Judge for a court appointed attorney. Don't "plea" to anything. Ask for a lawyer.

You were charged with Petty Larceny and that is a misdemeanor. You should retain a good criminal attorney who can try to get the case dismissed or reduced to a violation of Disorderly Conduct. If you are indigent the court will appoint an attorney to handle the case but you have a better chance at an ACD dismissal with a private attorney. He will charge you about $1,500, but that would prevent you from having a criminal record for the rest of your life. A conviction is never removed and can hurt your chances of getting into college or getting a good job. If you are under 19 then you will not have a record because yo are eligible for Youthful Offender Treatment. Life is about making good decisions, getting a good education, getting a good job, and having a strong moral compass. You risked your entire future for $10, disgraced your family name, broke your mother's heart, and ruined your reputation for a few dollars. That shows incredibly bad judgment and that will not change overnight. Unless you change the way you view yourself and the world you will keep on making mistakes and your chances of being successful will not be good. Use this experience as a lesson and never violate any law again and it will be a valuable life lesson.

Talk to an attorney about your options. Depending on your county, there may be diversion programs available that could help keep this off your criminal record. Your attorney might also be able to arrange a civil compromise, whereby you pay the victim some money and the case goes away that way.

At your first appearance you should enter a plea of NOT GUILTY. You should ask the Court for a lawyer to be appointed or if you can afford to retain an attorney a continuance for time to retain a private attorney.

Plead not guilty. A conviction for shoplifting (theft of property third) is a permanent record of a conviction and is one that involves moral turpitude. Hire an attorney to see if you can prevent this from being a conviction.

You're right. Theft, regardless of the amount, is a crime of moral turpitude, and having it will prevent you from obtaining any meaningful employment for a decade at least. You need to hire a lawyer ASAP, and make sure you do not speak to anyone else or sign any documents, or you risk incriminating yourself. If you need time to come up with money to get a lawyer, tell that to the Judge, who will continue the arraignment to a later date.

If you have a court date for a criminal charge, the best idea is always to plead not guilty and to remain silent. ATTORNEY the district attorney or prosecutor is like a police officer, what you tell them can be used against you. Simply plead not guilty and say that you want an attorney.

Relax. At the first hearing you should plead "not guilty" unless the prosecutor is willing to offer you diversion. By pleading not guilty, you are preserving all options that may become available once you have an attorney. The other thing you should know is Theft convictions can be vacated and dismissed after a period of time that is free of new offenses. Pay your fines, jump through the hoops the court sets out for you and you can go back later and get your case vacated and dismissed so it does not appear on your record forever.

When you appear in court, the judge will ask you about getting a lawyer. If you are eligible for a public defender, the judge will appoint one. If you are not eligible, he will give you time to hire a lawyer. In either event, a not guilty plea will be automatically entered for you.

The most important point is for you to appear on December 1, 2011. You do not have to take a plea of guilty at this court date. You have the right to choose your own private counsel, or if you cannot afford one, the Court will appoint one for you. You will have a right to go trial and the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed any alleged crime.

The best thing you can do to avoid having a conviction sully your good name is to fight the charge with an attorney that will fight hard for you. If you truly want to keep your name clear, fight hard now.

Plead "not-guilty" and ask for a lawyer to be appointed. The DA, judge, or court staff is likely to explain the process for people who are unfamiliar with it. It might make sense for you to plead guilty, but only if you have a lawyer help you to make that decision. And it's almost impossible to plead guilty by accident; the judge would go through the consequences with you in some detail.

If you hire a lawyer now yo probably won't have to go to court on December 1. If you don't hire a lawyer in advance then you need to go to court on your court date and plead "Not Guilty". This is a serious charge so you need to talk to a lawyer right away.

If you can not afford to hire an attorney, ask the Court to appoint the public defender to represent you. If you can afford to hire an attorney,you should hire an attorney, because the public defender will not be spending as much time working on your case.

You can hire an attorney to make sure your record is protected, apply for a public defender when you go to court, or represent yourself and try to work out a resolution with the prosecutor. On minor charges prosecutors and judges often will offer a sentence that will not place a conviction on your record.

Depending on where you are there may be a public defender already there simply for purposes of the arraignment. You must qualify to be able to get a free lawyer. They aren't usually free even the "appointed" ones are awarded restitution by the court usually but it'll be less than private counsel probably.

At your arraignment, your plea should be not guilty and if you cannot retain your own attorney you should apply for the services of the public defender.

It sounds like you were cited for petty theft (theft of property under $50), which can be charged as a misdemeanor or infraction in California. A misdemeanor is punishable by a fine up to $1,000.0 and/or a county jail sentence of up to six months. An infraction is punishable only by a fine up to $250.00. You should consult a criminal defense attorney to discuss your options before appearing at your December 1, 2011 court date. Also, if you are charged with a misdemeanor, you have the right to request an attorney present for arraignment.

You can request a court appointed lawyer if they may be seeking jail time for the charge. They probably won't seek jail so you may not get a court appointed lawyer. You should discuss the case with the prosecutor, and they may have a way to resolve it that you can live with like a deferred sentence (plead guilty, pay restitution, do community service work and then at the end of all that the guilty plea is withdrawn and share dismissed so you do not end up with a permanent conviction on your record.

Try and get a deferred judgment which is a deal wherein the case is dismissed after you successfully complete probation.

Get a lawyer to advise you. The facts will determine what you do.

Make sure you plead "Not Guilty" at your arraignment or first court appearance. Otherwise you lose the benefit of a plea bargain of any kind. I would seek out a lawyer ahead of time as they are not going to give you a court-appointed lawyer on a minor misdemeanor charge like this. You may be eligible for a diversion program which could keep the matter off of your public record. At least have an attorney review the police report before you agree to anything. There could be errors that could get the charges reduced or dismissed.

It's doubtful that a lawyer will be appointed to you. If you simply can't afford an attorney, make sure you ask for deferred adjudication probation or a pretrial intervention. Some sort of program where it will not go on your record. Theft charges can prohibit you from obtaining employment.

You should show up for court on your court date. If you don't show up, you will end up with a warrant and could end up in jail on the warrant (e.g. if you are stopped for jaywalking, the police may run you and find you have a warrant and can arrest you on the spot.). When you go to court, you can ask for a court-appointed attorney. Alternative, you can hire your own attorney or ask for time to do so when you go to court. Your attorney will advise you about how to plea. If in doubt, plead "not guilty" until you, in consultation with your attorney, decide another course is appropriate.

Plead Not Guilty and askto have an attorney assigned to you and your case.Depending upon which county it is located in, you are likely to be offered an ACD, meaning an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, which means if you don't get re-arrested for anything new within the next six months, the case will be dismissed and the record sealed and expunged, which is the best possible outcome. Of course, don't get re-arrested, or it will go worse for you.

Plead not guilty and either hire your own lawyer or ask for a court appointed attorney.

If you can afford to do so, get a lawyer before court. That attorney can appear on your behalf in court. They can review your case for any factual or legal defenses and - if it is a solid case, they can advocate on your behalf to work out something that doesn't involve a conviction on your record. Or, if you cannot afford a lawyer (and you'll never know until you meet with a couple to discuss your case, fees and payment options), then you show up to court, request a public defender and plead NOT GUILTY.

Normally in such a case a not guilty plea is the appropriate way to proceed.

You should contact an attorney or have the court appointed you an attorney free of charge if you can not afford to pay for a private attorney. Depending on the county, the DA or the court may offer you a program. If you complete the program the charge will be dismissed. The ticket and the charge me still however appear on your criminal history but it will indicate that it was dismissed.

If you are charged with shoplifting your first court date will be your arraignment. At that hearing you will be told the charges against you and asked to plead guilty or not guilty. If you plead guilty you are convicted on your plea; you will be sentenced and with the exceptions of probation hearings your court time is over. If you plead not guilty then you will have a pretrial date and a trial date. You will be asked if you want an attorney and if you can afford one. If you have an attorney (always if pleading not guilty) your attorney will receive the police report and review it with you. During this time your attorney will advise you of the way to proceed.

Based on your e-mail, you want to plead not guilty and ask to have a public defender appointed. Tell the Court Administrator that you want to apply for a public defender when you go to Court.

Your first court date is merely your arraignment where you will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges. If you can not afford a private attorney (and I would recommend hiring a private attorney before that date) then the court will appoint you a public defender. Keep in mind that the plea offer that they give you at that first appearance may not be the plea that gets offered at a later time (it often gets better). There are two dispositions you would ideally be interested in. First, they can offer you a plea to an ACD, or an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. With this disposition, as long as you stay out of trouble for a period of six months the case will be automatically dismissed and sealed and you will be returned to your pre-arrest status (i.e. if you are ever asked if you have been arrested you can answer "no".) Second, they may offer you a plea to a violation and even the judge will tell you that it is a violation and NOT a crime, meaning you will not have a criminal record as a result of the case and it should be sealed at the end of a year. Both of those dispositions can also come with certain restrictions such as the payment of restitution or the completion of community service. You should always consult your lawyer before accepting any plea to make sure you understand your options and any potential consequences that the plea could have.

If the December 1 court date is for your arraignment, plead "not guilty." It is the prosecution's job to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. They may not have sufficient evidence. You have no way of knowing at this stage. If you do not have a significant criminal record you can expect some form of probation and restitution as a plea bargain. Take the advice of your court-appointed attorney.