Jail?Fines?Expunge?
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Jail?Fines?Expunge?
I was caught stealing a 28 shift from Macys. Charges were filed and I appear in
court Friday. It was something stupid and senseless. I’ve never been in any type
of trouble, not even a traffic violation. I feel like this is something that I
will be paying for, for the rest of my life. I guess my questions are if there is
Jail-time involved? Fines? Will this be on my record, if so how and when can I
get it expunged?
Asked on December 5, 2016 under Criminal Law, Ohio
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
Typically, your first court date will be your arraignment in which you will be given the opportunity to enter your plea - guilty or not guilty. Most people plead not guilty at the this time, except for offenses such as shoplifting where some sort of pre-trial diversion program may be available. Pre-trial diversion typically allows you to participate in a court ordered probationary program. The way it works is that you will plead guilty to the charge, however your plea will be withdrawn and your case dismissed upon a successful completion of the program. This will leave you with a clean criminal history record. Even if you cannot get into a diversion program, you may be able to later get the charge "expunged", which means that your RAP sheet can be cleared. However, not all states allow for a misdemeanor conviction to be cleared from a criminal history record. Speaking directly with a criminal law attorney would be best.Read more: https://ask-a-lawyer.freeadvice.com/law-questions/i-m-17-and-was-caught-sho-241745.htm#ixzz4S4OxzQx3 Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Follow us: @FreeAdviceNews on Twitter | freeadvice on Facebook
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