For Attorneys. We Help! No Hassles Guarantee. For Attorneys Products Attorney Directory. Search: Search. Judges do not normally dismiss cases in this way often. An attorney familiar with the judges in your court will be able to advise you on the things you can do before court to show the judge that you should be placed on probation for a dismissal. If the judge does decide that this is an appropriate resolution for your case then there will need to be a finding of guilt.
This includes either you pleading guilty or the judge hearing facts from the officer or prosecutor and determining that there is enough to find you guilty.
The judge will not formally find you guilty but will instead continue the case for a period of probation. While on probation the judge will require you to not receive any new charges may additional requirements like a theft class, community service, or paying money owed to the store or person stollen from. If you do not get any new charges during your probationary period and complete everything that the judge requires, then your case will be dismissed.
However, if you do not complete everything as instructed, the judge can use your guilty plea to find you guilty at the end of probation. In addition to the criminal penalties such as fines and jail time, a separate law allows a store to collect a civil judgement against a person who is convicted of shoplifting.
Under Va. Code Ann. This means that if you are convicted of petit larceny, you will probably get a letter a short time later from a lawyer demanding you pay the store several hundred dollars. Some of the defenses available are found in the basic definition of petit larceny. So, for example, if a woman is stopped in a store with something in her purse and then charged for petit larceny, a prosecutor must prove that she intended to take the item out of the store and keep it.
She might argue, for instance, that she intended to pay for it and simply put it in her purse to keep her hands free to continue shopping. Since petty theft is a less serious crime, the consequences will usually be more mild. This is especially true for first time offenders.
If you are charged with a misdemeanor, some typical petty theft consequences include small monetary fines and probation. Sometimes, a more rehabilitative option will be on the sentencing table like having to attend theft support groups. This could be ideal for repeat shoplifters who can show they have a problem based on addiction to shoplifting.
However, this is a rarer option that will likely be in conjunction with other penalties like a fine and probation. One question people wonder about is if you can ever get jail time for petty theft.
The answer to this question is yes. For misdemeanor petty theft, the limit for jail time is usually six months to a year. However, for first offenses this will likely not be factored into your sentence. For felony charges, the jail time could be over a year. Keep in mind that sometimes you can get a criminal conviction erased from your record. This will be easier with misdemeanors but much harder for petty theft felonies and repeat offenders.
Any theft charges that are more serious, like those involving weapons or burglary, will also be harder to get removed from your criminal record. This process is typically referred to as expungement , and involves petitioning the court to get the record removed like it was never there.
Another option for juveniles is sealing the record, which means it can still be accessed via court order. If you are charged with criminal petty theft, you may be able to assert some defenses in court.
First, understand that ignorance of law will not be a valid defense. Take the situation discussed above where you borrow something and do not return it. If you did not think that was a crime but your state law says it is, this does not mean you can get petty theft charges dropped against you.
Larceny is the trespassory taking and carrying away of the property of another person with the intent to steal. Embezzlement is the fraudulent taking of property with which one has been entrusted. The key difference between embezzlement and larceny is the way in which the criminal came to possess the property. With larceny, the taking is without right. In contrast, embezzlement involves a taking by a person who already had rightful possession of the property.
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