Another Cut And Dry Shoplifting Case

Hi, my plight seems to be common to this thread. I was caught shoplifting twelve dollars worth of goods, and the police came and gave me a summons to a court date. The goods in question were 2 packages of cheese and tire sealant (my tire was flat in the parkinglot). This is my first offense, never so much as a traffic violation, and obviously the end to any such activities. The question I guess is, what should I do in the state of Maine.

I'll be hit with a class E crime conviction, which is a misdemeanor, but this means as a college student, I'll never be hired for retail work, nor will I be able to find a job within the state of maine (I'm studying to become a chemical engineer, with aspirations to attend medical school). My record can never be expunged in the state of Maine. Should I just plead guilty, work my community service/fine/jailtime, and set my sites on another state for future employment, or is there something else I can do?

Okay, I posted that one hastily. I've done my research, and I see that I should find a public defender, plead not guilty, and persue a diversion program. The only question is; does maine have a diversion program for shop lifting?

I seriously doubt this incident will prevent you from ever getting a job. If everybody who has ever had a misdemeanor conviction was out of work then our unemployment rate would be through the roof.

Yes, you can ask for a Deferred Disposition for a class E crime(theft - ME merged old shoplifting statute into theft)
http://janus.state.me.us/legis/statu...h54-Fsec0.html
http://www.bouloslaw.com/info.php?info_id=5

You plead guilty, and if at the end of the time of the deferment you have been a good boy, the prosecutor motions to allow you to withdraw the plea and then drops the charge with prejudice(you can't be retried for the incident).

You can also be sentenced to do community service and pay restitution concurrent with the deferred disposition.

Thank you! This helps alot!

I have another quick question. I was not arrested, the officer let me drive away. Thus, if I am allowed a deferred disposition arrangement and successfully complete the program, having effectively my "guilty" charge dismissed, will this still show up on a background check for an employer after the fact?

Most accounts say that you must be "arrested" for this to show up on a traditional report, however it's not exactly clear what their definition of "arrested" means.

I.E. should I be prepared to explain myself for future interviews?

Your mistaken you were arrested. Your arrest was a "citizen's arrest" conducted by Loss Prevention (Security). If asked about arrests on an application (rare) you should be truthful

You don't need to tell prospective employers about citizens arrests. There's no official record of citizens arrests, absent the police coming in and making a formal arrest.

But even without an arrest, and even with a deferment, you will typically end up with a public record of the charge and its disposition. Discuss this with your lawyer.

I went through the diversion program on Ohio. I had to pay restitution to the place where the crime was committed & I had to do community service in a bright orange vest for all to see. You have to have a full time job or be a full time student and stay out of trouble. You report every month to your probation office (which are between the hours of 9:00 to 5:00, so go during lunch) and they can give you a drug test any time they feel they need to. I only had to do the initial drug test you have to take to get into the program. You also pay a fee for being in the program & for your first drug test (well worth it.) After I completed the program, the charges were dropped without prejudice which means they can't bring them back on me & my recorded was sealed. Which means the court system can see it, however employers cannot. I live in Ohio, which is a different state than yours, but I hope this helps. Take it from me, just learn your lesson the first time.