Q: I stole $47 of clothing. I had a clean record before this. I have a court hearing next month. What will happen?
A: The charge starts out as a misdemeanor. My hope would be that you can negotiate it down to a petty misdemeanor which is not a criminal offense. I would suggest bringing funds with you to the court date to pay off the restitution and that should increase the likelihood that you can get it reduced. A petty misdemeanor is not a criminal offense and does not go on your record.
A: What will happen will depend on what you do. You'll do better with a criminal defense lawyer's help, of course. If you think you might qualify for a Public Defender, apply. If not, consider a private defense attorney. Most people with a clean record very much want to keep it that way. The best outcome would be dismissal of all charges or a not-guilty verdict on all. Short of that, the next best would be a "Continuance for Dismissal Without a Plea." If agreed, the charge would be dismissed after a period of time (often a year) as long as a few conditions are met, including no new criminal cases. That is a good outcome because: (1) no conviction of any kind would result: and (2) there would be no guilty plea on you public court record. A guilty plea to a reduced petty misdemeanor charge would not be as good because: (1) though a petty misdemeanor is "not a crime" a public "conviction" record does result; and (2) the guilty plea would also be a matter of public record.
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