Confused about the status of a shoplifting case

In may 2006 I was caught shop listing for the first time (silliest and stupid act) .. anyways. the cops were involved and they gave summons for a july date in court.. the store took picture and made me sign no tresspassing agreement..
I went to a criminal lawyer who handled my case.. he said I should not pay the civil demand. on the court date we were not listed on the list of hearings for the day.. upon checking. thy said the paper work is not signed. so I was not in the system. i did not know exactly what that meant.. like who signed it or who did not!!! was it the store or was it the cops who were suppose to sign while submitting.. My lawyer was not present on that day and he had sent his associate.. so i dunno for sure what was told to him..
later my lawyer said that we can do nothing now.. we just need to wait and watch.. and hope that it will never be signed and will never come up.. but we need to keep an eye and keep checking with the court to make sure as if the date it given and I do not go to the court then i can have an arrest warrent in my name..
Now my problem is I am looking for a job.. I for now am sure that its not on my records.. If I have to travel out of country sometime in future and at that time if the date comes up.. what am i suppose to do?? is there no way I can make sure that it will never come up..
one lawyer with whom I consulted before told me that a case would get technically dismissed if the paper work is not submitted properly.. he said we can talk to the DA and he may or may not give those guys a second chance to submit completed paper work..
However this lawyer(he is an experienced lawyer but this case seems very petty to him) said we cannot talk to the DA about anything rightnow because he cant do anything until the paper work is submitted.. we can only talk after I am in the system ie court records..
how long do I have to wait to be comfortably sure that this case will never come up??? plus as he suggested not to pay civil demand where I already got a second notice.. I am scared if i dun pay that, the store people could just trigger the case and it may come up in the system.. on the other hand if i pay it off.. is it that they may never bother abt it.. how far is this case now in the hands of the store people??? or is it the cops who did not submit the paper work??
i know i have not been very clear with my wording.. but I am just confused and dunno whats happening/// Just need some advice and please try to answer all my queries,, thanx in advance.. i will really appreciate any help here..

Quote:

---

Quoting foolish_act

---

but I am just confused

---

I am also because I do not know what state it happened in. State laws vary.

NY state
thanx

In New York, a prosecution for a misdemeanor must normally be commenced within two years after the commission thereof; a prosecution for a petty offense must normally be commenced within one year after the commission thereof.

Thanx for the reply..
I was charged with petit Larceny ( goods were worth 10 $)
So do I have to wait for a year to be sure if this thing will ever come up??
Wht could have actually happened? At the court they said they had papers but were not signed?? by whom?? The day that I was caught by the store LP .. I was given a summons with the court date, at the store by the cops who were present at the time. does the DA have any say in this?? I know my lawyer being a criminal defense lawyer must know it all.. and hes charging me quite a huge sum.. still I want to get a second opinion..

I shudnt be worrying abt this another thing as thats not important.. But i will still mention it.. this was the first time i ever did this.. anyways I was caught outside the store in the parking lot.. i had bought some stuff and put some cosmetic in my purse.. I was with my friend.. they caught me when I was waiting for my friend in the parking lot.. the guys just came up to me.. immediately hand cuffed me.. searched me from behind.. n took my purse.. found the lipstick that did not even have the on it or any tags..they took me inside hand cuffed. I did not resist once nor did i speak up anything as i was so shocked and guilty that i could not say a word.. there the police took all my stuff from my purse.. I had around 150 dollar gift cards that i got for my birthday which was not even from this store.. they took it from me and tore it sayin probably this is also stolen.. why would they do that??