Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Not a done deal?

last october i pleaded guilty to stealing 1,550 bucks from my now ex boss. I stole the money over a period of about 8 months. my sentence was probabtion and a fine and paying my ex boss back. now my ex boss told me he did some more investigating and says I took some more money from him during the 8 months period and probably beyond that period. Am i in trouble again?

my friends tell me NO! I am already being punished and my ex boss can't file more charges against me because he now knows i took more than the 1,550 bucks. That my ex boss should have done a more accurate investigation and gone back and audited everything i did before originally filing the charges against me. is this true?


Asked on 11/14/04, 4:28 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

David Beauvais David J. Beauvais

Re: Not a done deal?

Normally, the district attorney would be barred from prosecuting you for other thefts from the ex-boss when you've already been convicted of thefts that are part of a single course of conduct. A single course of conduct would include situations like yours where there was a series of thefts from the same victim over a period of months or years. As a rule of California procedure, a DA must file all charges that relate to a single course of conduct in the same prosecution. The DA is not allowed to charge piecemeal.

Also, the federal and state constitutions prohibit being put twice in jeopardy for the same offense. Under these provisions, this looks like a done-deal.

Still, your ex-boss could ask the court to raise the restitution amount. The court could do this without violating double jeopardy. Sometimes the court will reserve the amount of restitution for a later determination and tell the parties to come back if they can't agree. If this happened, your ex-boss has a stronger case for seeking to prove a larger loss. You have a right to a hearing in which you can contest the amount.

If the court decided the specific amount of restition without reserving the issue, then the argument would be that the court has no jurisdiction to change a term of your sentence when you haven't violated probation. I don't know if this would work because I haven't researched it but generally a court isn't allowed to hold a resentencing to modify a probationary sentence except if the original sentence was unlawful (example: the law didn't authorize the court to grant probation or a probation condition was illegal) or when resentencing is ordered by an appellate court.

Or your ex-boss could sue in a civil court and get a judgment for whatever amount he could prove. The civil judge would not be bound by the restitution finding in the criminal court.

Hope this helps.

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Answered on 11/15/04, 5:01 am
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Not a done deal?

Legal advice from buddies is generally not a good basis for decisions on matters that affect your freedom. You can be charged with any additional theft discovered, unless there was some kind of specific waiver and release on the original charges, which is unlikely. If you need to hire counsel to defend you, feel free to contact me.

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Answered on 11/15/04, 12:59 pm


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