My question involves criminal law for the state of: California
Hi, I got caught shoplifting, no police were called, and the LP said it wouldn't go in my criminal record, but that I had to appear in court. I got a Civil Demand letter for $300 and paid it on time about 3 weeks ago. I sent it with delivery confirmation so I'm certain they received it.
I'd like to know how long they can take to send a release? Also, when can I expect to get a summons to court? This incident happened during late February. I've been thinking about it ever since, and I feel terrible about the whole thing. Please help :(
Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
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04-07-2011, 11:43 PMatrocitePaid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
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04-08-2011, 05:41 AMPandorasBoxRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
Court means you will have a criminal record. You will want to plead Not Guilty and ask for a public defender (unless you can afford a Criminal Defense Attorney).
They usually do not mail you a release, so hold onto your payment record and delivery confirmation. Do take that to court to show the judge you paid the Civil Demand.
It can take a while to get the court summons - it depends on how busy the court is. -
04-08-2011, 10:35 AMatrociteRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens NextHow much would a PD cost? Isn't there some type of pretrial program I can take? This is my first offense. Thanks a lot for your help.Quote:
Quoting PandorasBox
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04-08-2011, 10:47 AMPandorasBoxRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
If you cannot afford a lawyer, ask for a PD. That will depend on your finances. A PD will still cost you a few hundred.
Pretrial Diversion; First Time Offenders Programs; Pronation; Community Service...they all cost you money as they are PRIVILEGES. So if you get a PreTrial Deversion program that includes community service...$400 is a good estimate. -
04-08-2011, 01:40 PMKeyWestDanRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
What are you people talking about?
Why would there be a summons to court? For what?
No police were called. There is no police report. There is no determination by the SA/DA to press charges.
Hello people. There are no criminal charges. No store is going to try to press charges when they didn't call the police and already collected on the civil demand.
The store got the merchandise back and got the civil demand paid. They can not sue on top of it.
It is a civil matter, it never went criminal. The store decided to handle it as a civil matter which is much more profitable for them. Civil demands are a profit center, criminal prosecutions are not. -
04-11-2011, 11:07 AMatrociteRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens NextI'll try looking into those pretrial programs, if not I'll definitely get a PD. Thanks a lot for your advice, I really appreciate it.Quote:
Quoting PandorasBox
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04-11-2011, 06:39 PMJenya81Re: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
atrocite how do you know you will have to go to court? did you get a court summons yet?
It sounds like if no police were called you might not get one!
I doubt you will need a lawyer before you get a summons -
04-12-2011, 05:36 AMPandorasBoxRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
Jenya....if you read the OP's first post it says "but that I had to appear in court."
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04-12-2011, 06:06 AMCourtClerkRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens Next
However, if he had to appear in court, the authorities would have to get involved in SOME fashion. How would the CA or DA know to GET involved any other way?
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04-12-2011, 04:19 PMatrociteRe: Paid Civil Demand Letter, What Happens NextI haven't gotten a summons yet, but I'm waiting for one. The LP was training 2 other people when I got caught and he was telling them, there's an alternative to calling the police when they don't have identification on them, but by protocol you do need to call them to verify their identity, then he said I'm going to go ahead and be a nice guy and just ask her to call her parents to identify herself. Then he told me that I should see this as a reflection, because next time I would get arrested. Then I signed a paper admitting I shoplifted, and asked what he was going to do with it, he said he had to fax it to their law firm. Then I signed another paper saying I was banned from that Rite Aid location, but that I could still visit the others.Quote:
Quoting Jenya81
I asked what happens after this? He said you have to take your pink slip to court and your going to get a "ticket" (civil demand letter) in the mail so pay it. But the pink slip only states my info, store's info, and the item I stole. I called the store and they told me I have to wait for a summons to court in the mail, and that the pink slip is only for records it's not a summons.
I'm really confused about this whole thing. But I want to be prepared just in case I do wind up getting a summons in the mail. I heard they have about a year to take me to court...
The LP said I had to take my pink slip to court, but when I called the store they told me that pink slip he gave me was only for records and that I'd have to wait for the summons in the mail.Quote:
Quoting PandorasBox
I'm a she by the way. I've read about other people who also had no police involved, payed the civil demand, and still ended up getting a summons to court. I think after you pay the civil demand they can't sue you for damages, but they can still take you to court for criminal charges.Quote:
Quoting CourtClerk
They have a right to notify the police afterwards then right? I heard they have up to a year to do that. I'm just going to be left guessing until a year passes.