What should I tell at the court if I have been convicted of shoplifting? 5 Answers as of January 27, 2012

If you have a court date in a few weeks then you are not yet convicted ( found guilty after trial or plead guilty ) and you should hire an attorney to defend you either by trying to negotiate a favorable plea bargain or going to trial.

If this is a first offense, you should not plead guilty, but hire a lawyer or have one assigned to you if you qualify and ask for an ACD, which means an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal. That means if you don't get rearrested within a year the charge will be dismissed and expunged, leaving you without a record.

If you are indigent the court will appoint an attorney but if you have $1,500 you should retain a good criminal attorney to get the case dismissed. With that much merchandise the prosecutor may require you to plead to a Disorderly Conduct and go to shoplifting class or do community service. You risked your entire future and your reputation for just a few hundred dollars. This is typical of young people who are not good decision makers. Try to get your parents to hire a private lawyer to get an ACD so that you will not have any criminal record.

You have not been convicted; you have been charged. Big difference. NYC might be different, but here upstate New York a first time offender would be able to get a deal to keep his clean record and not plead guilty to any criminal offense. Once you plead guilty to a crime, it never goes away. A criminal conviction is not like a speeding ticket which lapses off your record after many years. So get a decent lawyer, and you can save your good name.

Get an attorney!!! An attorney has a better chance of negotiating a plea agreement or possible dismissal of the charge against you. Having no criminal record is a fact definitely in your favor. That fact will be forever changed if you plead guilty to petit larceny, a misdemeanor crime.