What should I plead if I was charged with third degree theft and given a court date?

You plead not guilty at the arraignment. You work with the prosecutor for a plea deal between the period of arraignment and pretrial hearing.

A crime of dishonesty is not good for your record. Especially if this is your first theft charge. Court is probably for an arraignment hearing. Plead NOT GUILTY (even if you are). Most courts have a public defender on standby to help you. Beware: some courts will later charge you money for the "free lawyer" (about $250 extra at the end of the case). They do it in Bellingham Municipal. So if court is there, and if you plan to use a public defender for the whole case, then it's ok to use them from the start. But if you're going to hire a private lawyer, try to do it before the arraignment (and you probably won't even need to appear). If you don't hire a private lawyer in advance, but plan to do so, just go to the arraignment. The Court or prosecutor will tell you your rights. You'll be charged with a crime and then you plead guilty or not guilty, and finally, you get a new court date scheduled. If you receive a letter from the store demanding money, talk to too your lawyer before paying it. You're not required by law to pay it unless you're court ordered. Paying now is self-incrimination. If you're going to pay, your lawyer might as well get some mileage out of it. Summary: Plead not guilty, even if you are. Exercise your right against self incrimination, and don't talk about your case except to your lawyer so get one. Wear something you'd wear to a casual church or a casual wedding (or whatever you wear to work if you're going to court from work). No hats, no gum. Don't smell like alcohol because the clerk will smell it when you get the paper with your new court date. Turn off your phone ringer, and do NOT bring kids unless it's the last resort. Be very courteous and don't say more than you have to. Finally, don't worry. There is nothing you can do about it except to prevent it from happening again.