"Just" Pleading Guilty to Class C Theft in Texas
Question: I recently received a citation with a violation of "theft under $50'.
The police officer advised me to go to court and appear before the judge and pay the fine. However I am not sure if I pay my fine, will my background check always reveal this offense?
How can I go about getting this erased from my records? Should I plead Not Guilty?
Answer: I feel obligated to mention that the police officer should not be giving advice of this sort to people he writes citations (or anyone else for that matter). Nothing will come of that though, so on to your real questions…
Should I plead ‘Not Guilty’? Absolutely. “Just” paying the fine, as the officer advised you, is a plea of guilty or no contest, and will result in a permanent criminal conviction for theft on your record forever.
A conviction for theft is a ‘crime involving moral turpitude’…meaning basically that you are being convicted of something that labels you as either (1) a bad person or (2) a person who did a bad thing, depending on who is doing the defining. (I, however, am a criminal defense attorney, and not one given to making moral judgments about other people, so you’re going to have to try a lot harder than Class C Theft to offend me.)
If you enter a plea of Not Guilty, however, you will probably be given the opportunity to enter into a deferred disposition, jump through some hoops, and get the case dismissed. Successful completion of a Class C deferred will then entitle you to expunge the offense from your record - although, recent caselaw indicates that you may have to wait 2 years to do so. Still, no conviction, and an expunction in two years is better than a theft conviction on your record for life.
Finally, what do I mean by “jump through some hoops”? Well, deferred dispositions in Theft cases usually require you to pay a fine, take a shoplifting class, maybe do some community service, and promise to stay out of trouble for up to 6 months. The exact terms vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
question?:
hi!I got cought shoplifting at a beauty store( 3 perfumes) the police arrested me and took me to jail, i got out that same night with a personal bond. they told me i had to pay 20 dollars by mail and then make an appointment to appear at the travis county in the next 2 weeks. when i went to the appointment they reeschedule for december at court.
i don't have a lawyer and they said this was a misdemeanor....what is going to happend? what should i do...if i can't afford a lawyer would they provide one for me?, am i going to jail? what kind of punishment is there for shoplifting?.
i got a computer from a rent to own company and i payed well over the value of the computer and i keep getting jerked around on the final payment,,so i just dont pay anymore on it and they called me and said they will turn me in for theft by diseption. should i just let it go to court and settle the final payment there ?
My daughter was in the mall with her friend and her friend stole a pair of sunglasses my daughter did not steal merchandise nor was she aware that her friend stole. They were both stopped outside of the store and brought to the office where they were asked to sign a civil form if they wanted to leave so they did. My daughters belongings were searched and they found nothing her friend not so lucky they did find a pair of sunglasses. She told them my daughter didn't know and they still held my daughter now I have retained a lawyer, paid collateral for the summary date and recieved a letter from the stores attorney to pay 477.00 in a civil judgement against me the parent. This is going to cost me well over two thousand dollars and she is innocent. The store security did not call the police and called me after holding her for one hour. How do these people get away with this. I feel like I am in a maze and cannot get out. Day after day letters from lawyers and such. It is harrassment of the worst kind because there is nothing I can do about it except jump through their hoops and hope all turns out okay and that one sane person will see what is going on, otherwise my daughter will be an A student with a scholarship and a record.