Massachusetts Criminal Defense Legal Questions

You will not go to jail. In Washington, you have committed a gross misdemeanor with a penalty range of 364 days in jail and $5,000. For your first offense, you will likely be sentenced to attend a consumer awareness class, do community service, pay a fine, pay restitution , stay away from the store, have no further criminal violations and be on probation for one year.... Read More

In MA, 1st offense shoplifting is punishable by no more than a fine as the maximum penalty. However, it is the collateral consequences of having a conviction on your record for stealing that will cause you far more difficulties than the court's consequences. You should do all that you can to avoid a conviction. In MA there is no such thing as a 5th level larceny so I assume your wife's charge is from a state other than MA. Therefore, nothing that you get from a MA attorney is of any value since the actual state's laws may be quite different. Try to speak to an attorney in the state where she was charged.... Read More

In Washington, your wife committed a gross misdemeanor which has a penalty range of 364 days in jail and $5,000. As a first time offender, she will likely be sentenced to attend a consumer awareness class, do community service, pay a fine, pay restitution, stay away from the store, have no further criminal violations, and be on probation for one year. She will also have to pay a civil fine. There are several things to do to keep it off her criminal record.... Read More

Depending on the amount allegedly stolen and the jurisdiction where the event occurred, shoplifting can be met with a mere citation (infraction), or charged as a misdemeanor or even a felony, with possible jail sentences of 6 months to 3 years. It will be up to the D.A. to determine how the crime will be charged. I suggest that you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney to represent you and get you the best deal possible.... Read More

In Missouri, the maximum penalty for misdemeanor (under $500) shoplifting is 1 year in jail and a fine of $1,000. If she hires an attorney to represent her, the attorney can probably get the shoplifting charge reduced to a lesser offense, such as "Littering." Your wife will have to pay a fine and court costs, but she probably won't have to appear in court. Call around and get price quotes from attorneys, but I would imagine you can find someone to represent her for around $500.... Read More

it sounds like the Perfect Storm of circumstances. You should hire a new lawyer and explain everything as you have done here. If the record reflects anything close to your explanation, combined with receipts of your payments thus far, you should be able to clear this up. I strongly advise you to hire counsel. Your situation is complicated and if its not presented properly a judge will stop listening halfway through and find you in violation. Your lawyer should know how to extract the pertinent facts from the chaff to present what is pertinent to the judge. Do not attempt to do this on your own. You have already admitted guilt a long time ago. The judge now is merely going to determine if you violated the terms of probation or not. If s/he determines that you have you could end up in jail.... Read More

Unfortunately you apparently trusted the wrong person. To exonerate yourself you will need to hire a lawyer who practices Criminal Defense. Seek an attorney who practices in the court where you were charged. It isn't the worst crime, but you do not want a conviction for this on your record (CORI) if it can be avoided.... Read More

If the police had a search warrant to search a home and they inadvertantly uncovered firearms for which the owner had no license to carry, or if the home owner gave the police permission to search the home, then the home owner can be charged for the illegal firearms. Because the home owner is charged does not mean he or she does not have a defense.  If it is a search warrant case there may be a number of ways to challenge the warrant.  The police may have exceeded the scope of what the warrant permitted.  If the home owner voluntarily gave permission to search for specific items, the police may be restricted to look only where those items could be found. The example taught in law scholl is that the police cannot look for an elephant in a match box. The facts will control the outcome of this case.  Consult an experienced criminal attorney.... Read More