Q: Does a shoplifting citation require a court appearance in MN if it's a first offense?

A: In Minnesota, even if the citation you received doesn’t list a court date, shoplifting offenses require a court appearance. That court appearance typically comes by way of a summons that will be mailed to you, so it’s important to keep a close eye on your mail in the coming weeks. If you don’t receive anything within 3–4 weeks, it’s a good idea to contact the court or speak with an attorney to check on the status of your case.

Even for first-time offenses, Minnesota law takes theft-related charges seriously. But the good news is that most first-time shoplifting cases resolve favorably, especially with the help of an attorney. Common outcomes include:

(1) Stay of Adjudication where you plead guilty, but the judge doesn’t accept the plea right away. Instead, you're placed on unsupervised probation for one year, and if you successfully complete it, the case is dismissed and never goes on your record as a conviction;

(2) Plea to a Petty Misdemeanor, which, in Minnesota is not considered a crime under the law. It's more like a traffic ticket. This outcome keeps a *criminal* conviction off your record;

(3) Continuance for dismissal – in some counties, prosecutors who recognize the value of second chances will sometimes agree to continue the case for dismissal. That means that there will be no sentence or punishment, and if you stay out of trouble for a set period (usually one year), the case is dropped entirely.

Whatever the resolution, you’ll likely need to pay a fine but will not face jail time as long as you don’t reoffend.

Long story short: Yes, you’ll very likely need to appear in court, but the case will probably resolve quickly and favorably—without jail time—if this is your first offense. Hope this helps!

A: Most people would not want a theft conviction on their public record. If a theft charge was a payable offense, it would result in a public conviction record, though a "petty." You could try to pay it via the Minnesota Courts website "pay fines" tab. But I doubt that it is a payable. Even if it were, most folks would want to set up a court appearance date to try to get an outcome that would avoid a "conviction" record. Also, it would then be possible to apply for a public defender.