Shoplifting Charge With a 25-Year-Old Prior Conviction

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Quoting DeputyDog

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Why would you plead guilty to a crime? Oh, I don't know - because you know that you did it and actually have some clue about taking responsibility for your actions instead of always trying to "get out of it" by any means possible.

This shows your character.

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You might wanna tone it down a bit. bam! is a long time poster and is also a long time LP professional so he knows how things work.

Yes, people who are truly guilty would save a lot of time by pleading guilty and I support that idea. But we live in a country where people have the right to have the state prove it's case, even if it is a 100% done deal. They can exercise that right as they see fit. Some do it to see if they can squeak out of it somehow, some do it for spite to waste "the man's" time and money or for whatever other reason. It doesn't matter why they do it, only that it is their right to do so.

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Quoting free9man

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You might wanna tone it down a bit. bam! is a long time poster and is also a long time LP professional so he knows how things work.

Yes, people who are truly guilty would save a lot of time by pleading guilty and I support that idea. But we live in a country where people have the right to have the state prove it's case, even if it is a 100% done deal. They can exercise that right as they see fit. Some do it to see if they can squeak out of it somehow, some do it for spite to waste "the man's" time and money or for whatever other reason. It doesn't matter why they do it, only that it is their right to do so.

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If he is an LP professional, then I'm not sure why he is interested in giving advice to people on beating SL convictions.

And sure, it is someone's "right" to plead not guilty and try to "squeak out of it." And it's my right to comment on that.

If the case is bad, plead not guilty and beat it. If you want to legitimately get a better deal for yourself, sure, plead not guilty and see what the prosecution is willing to work out with you.

But this notion that you should always abdicate responsibility for your actions because you can, and that this idea should be lauded, is laughable.

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Quoting DeputyDog

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If he is an LP professional, then I'm not sure why he is interested in giving advice to people on beating SL convictions.

And sure, it is someone's "right" to plead not guilty and try to "squeak out of it." And it's my right to comment on that.

If the case is bad, plead not guilty and beat it. If you want to legitimately get a better deal for yourself, sure, plead not guilty and see what the prosecution is willing to work out with you.

But this notion that you should always abdicate responsibility for your actions because you can, and that this idea should be lauded, is laughable.

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I am not advocating that people beat the SL conviction. I also know that SL is something that people do consistently. My mother, my friend, your cousin, your neighbor any one of them could be a shoplifter. My advice is to not go in and throw in the towel right away. You are making the DA's job so easy for them. There is not one reason to go in, plead guilty and throw yourself at the mercy of the court. A wise man would do the following. Plead not guilty. Obtain legal counsel. Figure out your course of action. The courts offer diversion and other programs in order to keep these charges off your record. Why would they do that? Maybe because people make mistakes.

Store level LP are notoriously bad at a lot of things. I am not saying everyone, but the ones that are good become LEO's or move up into management and stop catching shoplifters. The ones that stay store level can be decent, but "most" prefer to sleep in, miss court etc.

Lets be realistic. The OP probably has gotten away with stealing for over 25 years, who knows, who cares?