Q: Regretfully a friend is in trouble and I am helping him for petty theft.
Regretfully a friend is in trouble and I am helping him due to his language barrier.
This past Sunday, a friend of my nephew got himself in trouble and received Petty theft charges against him.
He shoplifted $50 or less over the counter medication at Costco .
Please note:
1 he has green card
2 he has no prior record
3 he is not employed here
4 he is visiting here and needs to get back to his home country due to his job obligations
5 his court date is in early July
need a lawyer that can handle this case, In addition:
1 what will be the cost to litigate his petty theft charge?
2 Must he be present and appear in the court on the court date as he may be travelling?
This happened in Orange county California
A: Per your request, I have called and left you a message already. Please don’t give out more facts about the case as it’ll be considered an admission potentially. Call my office at (714) 321-9999.
A: A lawyer can appear for a defendant charged with a misdemeanor, and he never needs to go to court. Such an insignificant charge as this is frequently handled through a diversion type program, such as Western Corrections, where written course materials are completed to the DA's satisfaction and the charge is dismissed. Someone might need to help with the translation. There is also the civil compromise statute, where restitution in the form of loss prevention costs is paid to the injured party (Costco) and the charges are dismissed.
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