If you have your first misdemeanor theft charge and you have a clean criminal history, it is pretty tempting to just go into the courtroom and plead guilty, pay a fine and go on your way with maybe having a little probation time hanging over your head. What a significant amount of defendants do not realize is that the theft conviction stays on their criminal record. This means that employers get to see to see the theft conviction on their record. Consequently, the person with the theft conviction does not get hired for their job or alternatively, can lose their job.
Albeit there is no such thing as a justified theft, there are some thefts that “look better” than other thefts. And in those cases the prosecutors can sometimes work with you in amending the charge or dismissing the charge if you meet certain conditions. Additionally, they may agree to a deferred judgment so that the matter expunged from your record upon successful completion of probation.
So you ask what is an example of a theft that “looks better” than other thefts? First you have the situation where you have a parent stealing items of necessity such as clothing or diapers for their child. Secondly, you have the theft where someone is stealing food to eat. In both of these examples, it does not look like the person is stealing to just steal or stealing something for luxury. As previously mentioned, all thefts are bad but in these situations the prosecutor sometimes can understand the situation where he/she can potentially work out a good deal and there is not a theft conviction hanging on the person’s record.
By hiring a theft defense attorney, he/she can let you know what the likely range-of-outcomes will be in your case and it may make the difference on whether or not your keep your job or whether or not you get a job. Do not hesitate to reach out to the Feld Law Firm regarding your theft questions and we would be happy to answer them.