QUESTION
What can we expect if we have a foreign exchange student caught shoplifting and received citation and court appearance?
Asked on Apr 23rd, 2017 on Criminal Law - Missouri
More details to this question:
She took a $30 shirt. She admitted to the crime and the police were very kind and instead of arresting her, have her citation and told her to appear in court. What should we do and what can we expect? I need to let her parents know what might happen and all costs associated.
1 ANSWER
It's good that she was not arrested. Her parents will need to hire a criminal defense attorney to represent her in court. The attorney can get the shoplifting charge dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense, such as "Littering." In my experience with shoplifting cases, often my clients never have to appear in court at all. The fines & costs associated with this will depend on which court her case is being prosecuted in, her age, her criminal history, and other specific details of her case. If you are interested in getting a price quote for legal representation, you can email me the name of the court (court name & address are listed on the citation the police gave her) and I can give you a price quote and estimate of the fine & court costs.
Answered on Jul 20th, 2017 at 10:28 AM