Missouri Criminal Defense Legal Questions

I assume a warrant has also been issued, in addition to putting a hold on your license. I suggest that you hire an experienced traffic law attorney to represent you. Your attorney can get your warrant lifted and take care of your old ticket. If you have an attorney representing you, you won't have to appear in court, turn yourself in to police, or pay the bond.... Read Answer

Yes, you definitely need to get an attorney for the current meth charge and for the probation revocation hearing for the previous charge that you are on probation for. The arrest for me this a violation of your probation, so there will be a probation revocation hearing for that charge. The judge could revoke your probation and sentence you for the original offense.... Read Answer

It is not the DOR's responsibility to notify you that your license was revoked. You will need to call the DOR and ask why it was revoked and what you need to do to get it reinstated. If you have outstanding traffic tickets or unpaid child support, you will need to take care of that before you can get your license reinstated.... Read Answer

You need to hire a criminal defense attorney to represent you if you want to avoid having a conviction for stealing on your permanent criminal record. If you go to court on your own without a lawyer, you are at the mercy of the judge, who could decide to sentence you to 1 year in jail and a fine of $1,000.... Read Answer

I recommend that you hire a lawyer to get the theft charge dismissed or amended to a lesser offense. You also should talk to a recruiter to see if this will affect your ability to join the air force. It's my understanding that all branches of the military are much more strict about who they allow in, but the recruiter can tell you whether an arrest will cause you to not get in.... Read Answer

There is no such thing as secret probation. There is supervised probation and there is bench probation (often called unsupervised probation). The public defender does not give you probation. The Prosecutor can agree to a plea bargain deal that includes probation, but it's ultimately up to the judge to place a defendant on probation.... Read Answer

Yes, because of "Constructive Possession." It means that the police (and the judge) believe that everyone in the house knew that the marijuana was there and had access to it, so everyone who lives in the house is getting charged with possession. You can hire an attorney to represent you and your son if you want to get the charges dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense.... Read Answer

At age 17, you are an adult in the court system. The maximum potential penalty in Missouri for misdemeanor (under $500) shoplifting is a fine of $1,000 and 1 year in jail. I suggest that you hire an attorney to represent you if you want to avoid ending up with a conviction for stealing/shoplifting. A conviction for shoplifting will prevent you from getting a job, renting an apartment, getting a loan, etc. Depending on which court your case is in, it probably won't cost more than a few hundred dollars to hire an attorney to represent you for the shoplifting case. An experienced attorney can get the charge dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense, such as "Littering."... Read Answer

At age 17, you are an adult in the court system you are not considered a minor for court purposes. So if you plead guilty to shoplifting, you will end up with a conviction for shoplifting on your permanent criminal record. This type of conviction can not be expunged (removed), so I highly recommend that you hire an attorney to get the shoplifting charged dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense, such as "Littering."... Read Answer

For a misdemeanor, the Prosecutor has up to 1 year from the date of the incident to file charges against you. The warrant or the "wanted" never expires, so you will need to hire an attorney to represent you for this. Your attorney can probably get the charge reduced to a lesser offense or dismissed so you won't end up with a conviction for assault on your permanent criminal record.... Read Answer

Hire an attorney to represent you in court. It depends on which court your case is in, but your attorney can probably get the charge dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense if you have no prior convictions for stealing. I would be happy to give you a price quote for legal representation if you want to tell me which court it's being prosecuted in. The name and address of the court will be listed on your ticket.... Read Answer