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Shoplifting Fines That Cannot Be Paid

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  • 11-14-2008, 05:55 AM
    NoMoney
    Shoplifting Fines That Cannot Be Paid
    My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

    I have a friend who shoplifted something that was $2.00. He cannot pay the fine for stealing this lighter, so how long can he expect in jail? No more than a week right? This is in Santa Clara.
  • 11-14-2008, 06:05 AM
    LawResearcherMissy
    Re: Shoplifting Fines That Cannot Be Paid
    Has he already been to court?
  • 11-14-2008, 07:53 PM
    NoMoney
    Re: Shoplifting Fines That Cannot Be Paid
    Nope, not yet but he will not be able to pay the penalty. If he goes to jail will his record be wiped out as a misdemeanor in some months to an year?
  • 11-15-2008, 04:17 PM
    PJ Weber
    Re: Shoplifting Fines That Cannot Be Paid
    Quote:

    If he goes to jail will his record be wiped out as a misdemeanor in some months to an year?
    No

    Who did he steal from? They may send a Civil Demand for
    Restitution letter, if he doesn't pay that (up to $500) he
    can be sued in Civil Court

    Bad things happen when you take stuff that doesn't belong to you
  • 11-15-2008, 04:25 PM
    panther10758
    Re: Shoplifting Fines That Cannot Be Paid
    Ok if he has not been to court there is no fine currently. If its Civil Demand (unrelated to court fines) that is issue contact the Service or Law firm about a payment plan
  • 04-26-2009, 02:33 AM
    mewgirl
    Re: Shoplifting Fines That Cannot Be Paid
    If the store said they will charge you fines instead of calling the police, they will send you letters saying you have to pay a certain amount. The letters will say that "Paying this fine does not prevent criminal prosecution". It is unlikely that they will pursue a criminal prosecution if you do not pay the fines. If for some reason they do, you can use as a defense, "proof of loss". All cases of any kind appearing in a court require the PLANTIFF (not a random third party, such as the victim if the victim is not also the plantiff) to show PROOF OF LOSS. If you were caught, then the item was recovered, and therefore there was no loss. This is true of ANY CASE in ANY STATE.

    However, if the previous poster is not simply taking a guess or basing this on his or her personal previous experiences in just one previous case, then according to her they will sue you in civil court instead if they choose to take action. If they do that, the case will most likely be dismissed as frivolous - it is highly abnormal to sue somebody for $2! If the case is not dismissed, they may judge against you... which is a judgment to pay more money! No one can be jailed for failure to pay fees, including probation fees and judgments against you while being sued in a civil court. The only exception is lack of payment of child support.

    There is another exception, and this is "traffic court". There is actually no such thing as "traffic court", and all "traffic offenses" are actually the "State, Inc." suing you for breach of policy. Although it is not legal to put anybody in jail for such a case (some states have statutes which say it is legal, however, it is actually not legal), it is possible and likely that you would be sentenced to jailtime anyway in cases such as "Driving without a license".

    The above paragraph is not relevant to your case but was needed in order to ensure my other paragraphs were accurate.
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