Shoplifting in Michigan

hello, I was caught shoplifting in JCpenney in june of 2006. This is my first offense, i have a clean record and not even a speeding ticket. The item that i took was a shirt cost a total of 40 bucks and was charged with a 3rd degree retail fraud. I was advised to plead guilty by a friend. So this past monday I pleaded guilty and was referred to the probation officer which will be in a couple weeks and my sentencing date is in a couple weeks after that. My bf who has been so supportive has contacted a lawyer for me and the lawyer advised that I should re-open the case and plead not guilty so there is a chance that I will not have a criminal record. He pointed out that he could say that I know nothing about the law and I dont know what I was getting myself into with the pleaing guilty. and it is true, i had no idea what i was doing when i plead guilty. i wish i would have known earlier that it is better to be this way. Anyways, i dont know what to do whether I shoud hire this attorney and try again. I do have an appointment with him tomorrow and see what he has to say. I am 22 years old and I work part time and a full time college student. I didnt know that one little mistake can caused me a huge amount of trouble and money-wise. I learned my lesson from all of this and I will never do it again. I got busted on my first try. Another thing is that I have an event to attend out of state and it just happens to fall on my sentencing date. the lawyer that I talked to advised me that I needed to hire him so he can help me with my situation hoping that maybe i can get a lesser charge.. I really do not want a criminal record because I will graduate in a year and a half from now and I dont want a stupid mistake that I did now will affect me from getting a job in the future. I do a lot of volunteering for school already so is it best for me to hire an attorney and re-open the case and plead not guilty?

When you went to court, the judge asked you if you understood everything that was going on. Now, you want to hire a lawyer and tell the judge that you in fact did not understand anything and that you were lying the first time.

Is that a fair statement?




Standard answer

Here are some hints on appearing in court:

Dress professionally in clean clothes.

Do not wear message shirts.

Don't chew gum, smoke, or eat. (Smokers...pot or tobacco...literally stink. Remember that before you head for court.)

Bathe and wash your hair.

Do not bring small children or your friends.

Go to court beforehand some day before you actually have to go to watch how things go.

Speak politely and deferentially. If you argue or dispute something, do it professionally and without emotion.

Ask the court clerk who you talk to about a diversion (meaning you want to plead to a different, lesser charge), if applicable in your situation. Ask about traffic school and that the ticket not go on your record, if applicable. Ask also about getting a hardship driving permit, if applicable. Ask about drug court, if applicable.

From marbol:

“Judge...

You forgot the one thing that I've seen that seems to frizz up most judges these days:

If you have a cell phone, make DAMN SURE that it doesn't make ANY noise in the courtroom. This means when you are talking to the judge AND when you are simply sitting in the court room.

If you have a ‘vibrate’ position on your cell phone, MAKE sure the judge DOESN'T EVEN HEAR IT VIBRATE!

Turn it off or put it in silent mode where it flashes a LED if it rings. AND DON'T even DREAM about answering it if it rings.”

(Better yet, don’t carry your cell phone into the courtroom.)”


Here are five stories that criminal court judges hear the most (and I suggest you do not use them or variations of them):

1. I’ve been saved! (This is not religion specific; folks from all kinds of religious backgrounds use this one.)

2. My girlfriend/mother/sister/daughter/wife/ex-wife/niece/grandma/grand-daughter is pregnant/sick/dying/dead/crippled/crazy and needs my help.

3. I’ve got a job/military posting in [name a place five hundred miles away].

4. This is the first time I ever did this. (This conflicts with number 5 below, but that hasn’t stopped some defendants from using both.)

5. You’ve got the wrong guy. (A variation of this one is the phantom defendant story: “It wasn’t me driving, it was a hitchhiker I picked up. He wrecked the car, drug me behind the wheel then took off.” Or, another variation: “I was forced into it by a bad guy!”)

http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthre...687#post854687

Public defender’s advice

http://newyork.craigslist.org/about/.../70300494.html


Other people may give you other advice; stand by.

Quote:

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Quoting bella2001

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I dont want a stupid mistake that I did now will affect me from getting a job in the future.

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Oh, so you call it a mistake. If you would not of been caught, would it still be a mistake?

Quote:

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Quoting Guilty Or Not Guilty

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Oh, so you call it a mistake. If you would not of been caught, would it still be a mistake?

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Yes it would have been a mistake even if i didn't get caught. But getting caught made me realize that it was a mistake.