Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Felony Grand Theft

I was arrested at my place of employment a month ago for Grand Theft. I confessed at work what I had done. It is both recorded and written in my own hand. I also signed a paper agreeing to pay back the money. I have never been arrested before. And am not familiar with what the process is going to be and what the outcome could be. I have gone to court and they asked if I had legal counsel which I did not and asked for a Public Defender.And they set my new date for 1/9/07. I have been told in alot of first time offenders do not do jail time but do have stiff fines and either house arrest or communitie service. I am a married mother of three school age children and so i am concerned. One of my kids has behavior porblems which I need to be there for him. Thank you.


Asked on 12/07/06, 3:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Felony Grand Theft

The time to seek legal advice was before you gave your statements, which will come back to haunt you when and if you go to trial. Guess what advice you would have received had you asked for it back then.

It's difficult to say what will happen to you without more facts. How much you stole and how you did it will be important factors in determining your sentence. Being a first-time offender won't help you much unless this was a relatively minor theft.

I empathize with your need to take care of your child, but that likely won't be a major factor in your sentencing either. One of the main reasons we sentence people to prison is to deter them (and others) from committing similar crimes in the future. A system which gave less disincentive to parents of problem children would essentially be inviting more of them to commit crimes.

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Answered on 12/07/06, 3:48 pm


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