Theft charges
A theft charge can outlast the court date
It turns up on job applications and apartment screens long after the fine is paid. I plan for that from the first meeting.
Shoplifting
Often a first offense, often a misunderstanding at a register. Store video is usually the whole case.
Burglary and break-ins
Whether anyone entered, what was taken and who says so. Entry and intent are what the charge rests on.
Card and check cases
A bounced check, a card used without the owner's word. Intent matters, and so do dates.
Taking from an employer
Till counts, inventory sheets and who had keys. I go through the records line by line.
Sample matters
How theft cases can end
Four invented examples, for the owner of this site to replace with her own.
Dismissed
Shoplifting, first offense
The store video showed the client paying at a second register, in a different line.
Sample matter
Reduced
Burglary, down to trespass
Nothing was taken, and the door had been left open. The intent to steal could not be shown.
Sample matter
Completed
Diversion for a bad-check charge
Repayment and a class, then the charge was closed without a conviction.
Sample matter
Not guilty
Taking from an employer
A bench trial. The till counts showed three people had the keys that week.
Sample matter
These are invented sample matters. Every case turns on its own facts, and how earlier cases ended does not predict how yours will.
Tell me what the store said
If you got a letter, a ticket or a call, bring it. A date on a page often matters more than anything else in the file.