Charged With Shoplifting at Walmart

[diamond144]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Illinois. I was recently caught shop lifting from Walmart. They gave my mom a sheet saying she would have to pay for the stolen merchandise. Then a police officer took me to the station and took my finger prints and pictures. He took some information about me and my mom came to pick me up. There was also a number by my name that said 590 or something close to that what does that mean. They said we would get a letter I'm the mail of my court date what will happen in court. Also the stuff I stole wasn't more than 50$. Will this be on my record and since I'm only 16 and I have been trying to find a job will this prevent me from getting one.

[PandorasBox]

You can count on having a very hard time finding a job. McD's gives people breaks, I suggest you haul your ass to every fast food place you can immediately. And you will be owing your mom a lot of money.....there will be a Civil Demand from the store/their lawyers. Then court costs and fines. Possibly community service and an anti-theft class. You will also need legal counsel. And mom or dad will need to take time off work to go to court with you.

[JasonAe]

Don't take PandorasBox's advice too harshly.

We need some facts first before we assume anything.
1) What did you receive? Was it an ordinance violation, a misdemeanor, or a felony?
2) Are you being tried as an adult? (Obviously, not. You're a juvenile regarding the $50 attempted shoplifting)

Now, here are where the assumptions come in. These are just assumptions, not real facts. I'm going to assume since you did get booked (fingerprinted and had a photo of yourself taken) you're going to have a misdemeanor. Misdemeanors and felonies are held in the Circuit courts opposed to the Municipal courts; if you have a citation that goes to the Municipal court, you most likely have an ordinance violation (much like a traffic ticket), if you have a citation that goes to the Circuit courts (that is a misdemeanor, or a felony... in this case, it's a misdemeanor).

Have you ever heard about the famous CCAP (Circuit Court Access Page) site that allows the public to see court files/decisions? Well, expect your name to be on that site if you ever go to Circuit court for your hearing. MOST, and I mean MOST, Municipal courts DO NOT post to CCAP... so your current employers won't know you have this conviction until they physically check the municipal court records.

Now, how can we get this conviction off your record IF CONVICTED? Ask your PD or your hired attorney if there is a diversion program in the area. If there is and you qualify, you will be given a chance to stay crime-free for a certain time period, take classes and/or pay back fines. After that, that charge will be dismissed (there will still be a file somewhere in the court files, but it will not show up in any background checks).

What if you're charged with an Ordinance Violation and can't do nothing about it?
- It's fine. The burden of proof is lower compared to an actual criminal case. Ordinance Violations are considered to be non-criminal in nature and if an application asks if you were ever convicted of a crime; misdemeanor/felony, you can legally say 'no.'

Anyways, you're 16. After you turn 18, your juvenile records won't show up to future employers because by law, that is illegal. Only if you were charged as an adult, then it would show up.

Hope I helped you.

P.S.:

As for the Civil Demand... talk to a local attorney about this. I never payed mine (advice given from my attorney) and nothing has ever happened. All he did was he sent a cease-and-desist letter telling the other law firm that if they sent us one more letter, a lawsuit would follow. Talk to a local attorney about this NOW. Check your state's CCAP and input all the store's names and lawyers associated with those stores. You can see that those names show up, but as a garnishee; meaning someone who works at that store was sued and that money is being taken out of their paychecks from a garnishment. It doesn't mean that the store is suing. I can 100% guarantee you that, that store has NEVER sued a shoplifter for not paying a Civil Demand. If you find one, show me the proof. Anyways, don't take my advice, take a REAL LOCAL LAWYER'S ADVICE.