Jail Time for Shoplifting

[mrod21]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Colorado

My mother in law was in Colorado visiting some family and she went to the store with her sister in law and the sister in law was caught shoplifting but my mother in law had no idea that she had shoplifted. Yesterday they had court and my mother in law has to pay fines and she got 3 days in jail, I don't understand why she would get jail time if she wasn't with her at the time. My mother in law has a clean record and she doesn't even live in the state of Colorado. Can someone please give me some advice on if that sentencing is right?
Thank you

[Mr. Knowitall]

If your mother-in-law went to court on a shoplifting charge, and was sentenced to jail and fines, then she either had a trial and was convicted of shoplifting or chose to plead guilty. How about telling us what happened in court?

[mrod21]

Well they asked if she pleaded guilty or not guilty and she said not guilty at first so they said that she was going to have to get a lawyer and then have to go back to Colorado for a trial, but she lives in New Mexico, so then instead she said she would plead guilty, is there anything that we can do to change that or is that how it stays?

[Mr. Knowitall]

She should talk to a lawyer ASAP.

[mrod21]

What if she cant afford a lawyer?

[cbg]

That's why God invented the Public Defender.

[souperdave]

I always thought that Miranda invented PDs.

[flyingron]

I'm sure that was supposed to be an attempt at a joke, but it's wrong.

While being **INFORMED** about the right to have a lawyer (including a PD) before custodial questioning is provided in Miranda, it's actually Gideon v. Wainwright (commonly referred to as Gideon) that establishes the PD right. Gideon extended the right established in 1932 by Powell v. Alabama that required the state to provide counsel to indigents in capital cases to all criminal proceedings.

Gideon predates Miranda by three years.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Yeah. Miranda invented the fruit-filled hat.

The problem here is that, post-plea, it may not be possible to get a court-appointed lawyer. But we're well past this being a "do it yourself" matter.