Belding, MI Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

You should have a lawyer try to negotiate an amendment to the stipulated order of continuance you entered. Maybe they will agree to more community service hours in exchange for not revoking and convicting you on the theft 3. The DUI should be negotiated as well, and maybe you could get a Neg 1.

Yes, if you plead guilty to shoplifting, you will have a conviction on your permanent criminal record, which will prevent you from getting a job, renting an apartment, getting federal student loans, etc. At age 17, you are considered an adult in the eyes of the law, so you can't get the shoplifting conviction sealed or expunged (removed) later. You will need to hire an attorney to represent you for this charge. Your attorney can probably get the shoplifting charge dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense, such as Littering. The outcome of your case depends on which court this is being prosecuted in, your criminal history, the details of your case, and whether you hire an experienced attorney. Regarding the civil case against you, if you received a civil demand letter asking for $250, you should ignore that. At this point, you should only deal with the criminal charge in criminal court. If the store actually sues you in civil court, then you can deal with that later, but most stores don't actually follow through and sue shoplifters they just send out threatening letters demanding that you pay money to the store. Right now you don't owe the store anything. If they sue you in civil court and win a judgment against you, then you will owe them money, but the maximum they can win is $250.