I was just talking to a buddy of mine here at work, and his daughter has gotten into some legal trouble. I thought I'd ask the bbs for some advice to give him. His daughter had a job and got caught stealing money. She took about $150, and a co-worker turned her in. She gave the money back, but was charged with theft anyway. She turned herself in, my friend paid her bail of $1500. Now she has a court date. They don't have a lot of money, so they haven't hired a lawyer. So his question is: what happens at that court date? If his daughter just shows up and pleads no contest, does she need a lawyer for that? Can she ask for deferred adjudication? She is 17, about to enter her senior year, and has a new job. Fortunately my kids didn't get into this kind of trouble, so I don't have any past experience to draw from. What can he/his daughter expect?
Can't they ask for a public defender if they don't have enough to afford their own attorney? I'd have them call the court house and ask what their options are.
They need a lawyer. Any cheap lawyer will be able to make this go away or have no lasting record. Otherwise, the administrative/bureaucratic end of the legal system takes over. They need someone to drive the process.
i can't imagine she'd get more than probation. then again, this is America's justice system where you get 8 years jail time for graffiti and only 2 years for running a dog fighting ring.
I had a friend go though something similar. (actually -- pretty much the same, except he stole merchandise). But it was a different era (the merchandise was cassettes ), and a different country (canada). So I'm no help. But the mega-store did bring him up on charges, he had to face a judge, and I think he got some sort of probation and no record what so ever. He was 17. I suspect your friend will be OK. Is there a free legal clinic she can call for advise? Often Universities provide these.
I believe UH law school has a free clinic that represents juveniles who run into these types of problems. I think it's definitely worth calling them.
i think the poster/clutchfan bejezuz is a prosecutor [in a different county] - you should contact him via private message or just keep bumping the thread so that it gets his attention. he usually responds to the law-related threads.
Here's a link to the UH Juvenile Defender Program I was talking about: http://www.law.uh.edu/juveniledefender/
Well, at 17 she is going to be tried as an adult, and the parameters look like she will get charged with a class "b" misdemeanor. She'll probably get probation/fine/def. adj. But I'd get a lawyer. That arrest will stick to employer job searches like glue. http://www.mytexasdefenselawyer.com/texas-criminal-laws-penalties/theft/
I know somebody who got 1 year of probation for first-offense petty theft. Stole a makeup from Wal-Mart. Lawyer was pretty much a must.
They need to get a lawyer, whatever the cost. I wouldn't trust my child to the 'mercy of the court' with the privatization of the prison system. Just Google 'juvenile court corruption' to see that it happens everywhere.
Are the store managers or owners not willing to withdraw the charges?!?!? She's accepted guilt, returned the money, no more personal harm done, etc. What, do they want to teach a lesson? She's learned it. After all, is the economy THAT bad that the store can't afford to get some bad publicity? On the contrary, they can be seen as nice peeps if they would just pardon the charges and be done with it. Certainly shouldn't that be something to pursue? Why are you posting about legal advice, sir? I expect nothing less from you than a good post about how much you'd snog the judge lady or how the female attorney would have already had her pleasure from you. Please try again.
I will say that if she was arrested at 16, she will be tried as a juvenile, regardless of her current age. Not sure if she was seventeen when she was arrested, but it's possible considering she's still in high school. And now I have a crappy Winger song stuck in my head...
At 17, you are legally an adult in Texas as far as the justice system goes. "Tried as an adult" is when someone under 17 is certified to be tried as an adult, even though they are still a juvenile. And I would try for a pretrial diversion 1st. Deferred adjudication is a fallback. You can't get a true expunction with a deferred, but it's still alot better than a conviction. But pretrial diversion gets you a dismissal, and then you can expunge the arrest, and it's like the case never happened.
