Pittsburg, CA asked in Criminal Law for California

Q: I’m being charged with grand larceny for taking my bosses money bag it only had 1029$ in not 17,000$ like he

Saying should I go to trial and try to prove that there was not that amount in the bag or plea

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2 Lawyer Answers
John Karas
John Karas
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Temecula, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: First, you should not be posting facts about your case. LEO's (Law Enforcement Officers) and even DA's (District Attorney's or their staff) make it a practice to check attorney directory messages boards for messages like yours. Your statement's could be construed as admissions and used against you.

Hire an attorney if you have not already done so and talk with him or her in private. The same holds true, is as I suspect, you have a PD (Public Defender) since you mention going to trial.

The decision to go to trial depends on many factors, one of which includes the amount in dispute because if you plead out or are found guilty without challenging the amount allegedly stolen, you will be ordered to pay restitution (pay the owner back) the full amount he alleges was stolen ($17K).

Dale S. Gribow
Dale S. Gribow
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Palm Desert, CA
  • Licensed in California

A: The answer most lawyers will give when asked a legal question is IT DEPENDS. Unless a lawyer has received all the facts s/he can’t spit out a credible answer. Junk in equals junk out.

Every case is unique, and more information is needed to properly answer your query intelligently. In other words it is usually both case and client specific. Does the client have a record? For what? How long ago?

I would initially caution you NOT to discuss your case on an open forum like this. You should also not discuss it on any social media.

It is always a good idea to contact a lawyer local to you, that handles these types of cases in the court where you would have to appear. Many criminal lawyers do not charge a consultation fee.

In other words, I am in Palm Springs and you don’t want to hire a Palm Springs lawyer for an LA case. In those cases, I usually try to refer the potential client to a lawyer more proximate to where this happened.

On criminal matters, please remember the court will appoint a court-appointed lawyer for you. That lawyer will have all the evidence in front of him/her and be in a better position to provide an intelligent answer.

For a criminal case, success may depend on how the evidence was obtained and the details regarding the stop and arrest, as well as a review of the facts of your case. A lawyer can't promise success any more than a brain surgeon can before surgery.

Good Luck

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