Mother and Daughter Going to Court Over a Shoplifting Charge

My question involves criminal law for the state of: New Hampshire
My daughter and I were caught shoplifting in Kohl's Department store in Salem, NH in late Nov 2012. We are set to go to court in early February 2013 and we have no idea what to expect. We are both being charged with Class A misdemeanors. We were never told we were being arrested however we obviously were as we were taken in handcuffs to the station, fingerprinted, questioned and put in separate holding cells. I understand the police have to scare you but they were both physically and verbally abusive to both my daughter and myself. They never told us we were being arrested and they never read us our miranda rights however they bullied us with questions and accusations.

We both have clean records but my daughter is applying to colleges right now and is filling out the FAFSA and other grant/scholarship applications. Does she have to put anything about this on there?

Should we plead guilty or not guilty. This is a 4 hour drive for us to go down there. We do not know our rights and we have contacted attorneys that simply want up front monies before answering any questions. We are both terrified and ashamed! Any advise that anyone has would be GREATLY appreciated.

We can't afford to drive down, spend the night in a hotel (court time is 8am) so we have to sleep in our car. This is a nightmare and I know it is all my fault!

Don't waste your money or tax dollars on college. No one hires a thief. It is nice to know you spent some mother-daughter time though. You both need to hire attorneys. Courts are not usually lenient on theft teams.

Plead not guilty and hope that the court has some type of diversion program to avoid a criminal conviction or maybe it can be reduced to a non criminal offense. If not then your probably stuck with a misdemeanor conviction,fines and maybe probation ,community service and a shop lifting class. Also ask if your daughter is eligible for any type of youthful offender programs. I guessing she 17 so chances are she is being charged as an adult. In ny for example she can get youthful offender status and if she stays out of trouble the record would be sealed.

Court can take awhile,you might have go 2-4 times or possibly more. Count on going at least two times,even if everything works out. If you can't afford a lawyer you can get a public defender. When you go to court,plead not guilty and ask for a public defender. If approved you can get one for free or at a reduced cost. Also keep look sometimes you can find a lawyer who at least gives a free phone conversation and maybe you can pick his brain. Tell your lawyer what happened and any concerns you might have about the way you and your daughter were handled. If the applcation ask about pending cases or being arrested then she needs to put it on her application. If it only ask about conviction then she can put no b.c she doesn't have a conviction yet. For finical aid atleast federally I think only felonies and drug charges affect it but I'm not really sure.

You can both expect the following: Fines and court costs; possibly anti-shoplifting class. Possibly Community Service. Other factors in deciding punishment - the value of the goods stolen. And obviously shoplifting together.

If your daughter gets a Diversion Program, this will also cost money.

Both of you will be getting Civil Demand letters in the mail from Kohl's/Kohl's attorneys. Pay this or the amount goes up and they can sue you in Civil Court and ruin your credit history.

See those signs in WalMart that shoplifting can easily cost $2000? They are not kidding.

How will a criminal record affect you? It will make job hunting very difficult at best. You may even not qualify for certain apartment buildings if they don't want people convicted of crimes of moral turpitude in the complex.

The shoplifting charge will not affect daughters FAFSA, but may cost her certain scholarships and grants.

For future reference, anytime you are handcuffed, put in the back of a police car, transported to the station, fingerprinted and then placed in a cell, you should consider yourself arrested.

How old is your daughter now? There is a possibility that your mother/daughter crime spree could also get child protective services involved.