Fifteen-Year-Old Caught Shoplifting

A public defender's office consists of lawyers who represent indigent defendants (those unable to afford private lawyers) for a particular county.

It's been 23 days since the day I got caught shoplifting and nothing has come in the mail. This makes me very anxious and worried. I really just want the Civil Deman and Court date and get it over with! I'm ready to face my crime and go to court. How long does a civil demand normally take? The LP said expect it in 2 weeks, not 2-3 weeks but 2 weeks. I'm very scared and this is causing my a lot of stress.

I really just want the letter to come! :(

Depends on the Law firm or Civil Recovery service some send Civil Demand letters faster than others

Is there some cases where if you pay the Civil Demand right away they won't press charges or drop the charges? I've been reading about how if they pay it then they get there charges dropped.

Thanks for all the answers guys! :)

Once charges are filed its over

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Quoting panther10758

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Once charges are filed its over

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Wow your really no help, you post the exact same thing in every thread. I swear like 80% of your posts just say

"Hire an Criminal Defence attorney and discuss your options."

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Quoting kevinareblind

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Is there some cases where if you pay the Civil Demand right away they won't press charges or drop the charges? I've been reading about how if they pay it then they get there charges dropped.

Thanks for all the answers guys! :)

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Civil restitution laws are individual state issues. Some states allow prosecution and the collection of CR. Others. it's one or the other.

From my own experience, (25+ years in retail loss prevention) I have never myself (or staff) allowed charges to be dropped in lieu of payment of CR. The vast majority of Courts would view that as coercion.

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Quoting kevinareblind

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Wow your really no help, you post the exact same thing in every thread. I swear like 80% of your posts just say

"Hire an Criminal Defence attorney and discuss your options."

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Go to home page of this site scroll to bottom. there you will see a statement that says not to use this site in lieu of advice from actual Attoreny. Or something to that effect. Also read my signature line. the people here volunteer their time. We are not paid. Advice is based on our knowledge (possibly wrong) expereince and what we "google". Even advice from Attorneys (yes we have some Lawyers here) should not be taken as 100% accurate said Attorney may not work in topic field. bottom line its "free" advice you get what you pay for.

Here is that statement I reference:

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Information provided in the forum is not intended to substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to professional legal advice. If you submit a question or comment it is assumed that you are interested in soliciting, receiving or giving general information and not legal advice. Laws vary by state, and the laws described in this forum may be different in your state or may have been changed since the information was posted. The legal help offered in this forum comes from volunteers who may not have any formal legal training or knowledge, and all information should be confirmed with a qualified legal professional. All information is made available on an "as is" basis. You should accept legal advice only from a licensed legal professional with whom you have an attorney-client relationship. Use of this forum is subject to the ExpertLaw terms of use.

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Someone get that kid some water, cause that looked like a harsh BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Panther just unloaded the guns of policy on you.

Anyway think about it this way, maybe they had an increase in shoplifting and their attorney's office has alot of paperwork, But the court date is still gonna come, and I believe the whole Civil demand and whether you paid it or not, is not very relavent to the criminal case.

Civil demand is a fine that you pay for the damaged merchandise(s) and the time and paperworks spent on working a shoplifting incident. It is in ADDITION to any criminal charges.

Some retail stores do offer a fine and a non-trespass agreement in lieu of a criminal charge. But if this option is NOT offered to you during the interrogation period, it will most likely NOT to be offered anytime after that either.

Each incident is different, that other people pay civil demand without been charged does not mean you will be able to get the same treatment, this applies to the fine you should expect to receive soon too.

What you can do now is just to consult your public defender and seek expungement when you turn 18.