Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California
Letter of Civil Demand (Juvenile).
My daugher was downtown shopping with a couple of girls that she called friends. These girls decided to steal a couple of necklaces. My daughter did not steal anything. They all walked out of the store and one of the girls handed my daughter the necklace to look at. She had it in her hand when a security person from the store approached them. He escorted them in to the back of the store where he took all their information. The girls admitted that they took the merchandise and that my daughter did not take anything. Should she have been detained and I be fined if she did not take anything? I received this letter of civil demand demanding that I pay $95.00 by 7/4/09. Am I responsible to pay this money if my daughter did not take anything? He had all of them empty their pockets and their purses to see if they had any more items. He did not find anything on my daughter. I have been told that my daughter should not have gone to the back of the store since she did not take anything. I was also told that 2 people need to see someone in the act of stealing or be caught on tape stealing merchandise to be detained, processed and fined. Have I been misinformed?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Letter of Civil Demand (Juvenile).
Yes, completely, as it seems you already sense. The sooner you retain an attorney, the better. Innocent people are sometimes convicted too and the disparity in punishments is sometimes jaw-dropping.
Re: Letter of Civil Demand (Juvenile).
You've been greatly misinformed. She is lucky she isn't being charged with felony conspiracy to commit burglary. That's what can happen when more than one thief is caught in the same crime. Get her an attorney if you intend to try to defend against the criminal and civil charges she faces.
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