You should try to go through an attorney if you can afford it. While there is no guarantee he or she is in a better chance to achieve the optimal result than you are by yourself.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/9/2011

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I would hire an attorney to assist you with this. $1,500 is not unreasonable by any means to handle this charge.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/5/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Your first appearance in court will be your arraignment. At that appearance you will be told your rights and asked if you plead guilty or not guilty. After asking you what you plea the judge normally tells you what the standard sentences would be. If you plead guilty that is what you will get. In some courts the prosecutor is not even at the misdemeanor arraignments. If you want the deal you are looking for you will need to go to the next step, the pretrial. What you are looking for is a deferred entry of judgment (DEJ). With that you would plead guilty and after completing all your probation requirement the case would be recalled your plea withdrawn and you would be judged not guilty. You could try this on your own without an attorney. However, you would have to negotiate with an attorney (the prosecutor) that is in court every day on cases like yours and does not know you or care about you. At to the cost of hiring an attorney you could go with the public defender sometimes a good chose, or hire a criminal attorney. As to the money; what price do you put on having a clean record and staying out of jail?

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/5/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

The chances of you obtaining this by youself is not high. You need an attorney. While a first time petty theft usually carries no jailtime, what you should really be concerned about is your record. Theft is a crime of moral turpitude, and having it means you can forget about obtaining any kind of meaningful employment in the next decade.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/5/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

A good lawyer might be able to get this down to an Infraction instead of a misdmeanor, depending on Court, DA and Judge. If that is accomplished, you won't have a record.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/5/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You're talking about getting an arrest off your record, then you're talking about pleading guilty. Be careful with this conflicting information. A subsequent dismissal won't "clean" your record or remove the case. No, you can't talk to the judge or the prosecutor about this - that's what your attorney is for. The odds of jail on a first offense are slim to none, but that is no guarantee.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/5/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

You should qualify for diversion however there is a possibility that it will be filed as a felony. If the district attorney's office believes that you entered the store with the intent to steal they can charge you will commercial burglary. Criminal defense lawyers cannot set their fees based on outcome, meaning that they cannot say "If I get this case dismissed my fee will be higher." However a criminal lawyer can tell you that if you are charged with a felony my fee will be $1,500, if you are charged with a misdemeanor my fee will be $750, which would be fair considering that he would only have to make a single appearance in court and help you plead guilty and get the diversion program. If you get diversion, you will not do any jail time if you complete the program.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 10/5/2011

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.