Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Petty theft charges

sir: do not plead guilty to this crime it is one of moral trrpitude. u will b branded a theif for life...call me toll free...1877 bgscrim lyr or 1310-201-0909

Re: Petty theft charges

Unfortunately this was posted after your court date, but in answer to your questions:

If you plead guilty to the offense at arraignment, the Judge in Harbor Court (Probably Judge Glass) will probably give you a fine or possibly some Community Service and some informal probation ( if this is a first offense). There are a few problems with pleading guilty to a theft charge in that it is a crime of moral turpitude and carries with it some heavy consequences in Immigration, Licensing and Future Employment. Absent this, if the case is your first, and you successfully complete your probation, without any probation violations, then you are entitled to have the plea withdrawn and the case dismissed under Sec 1203.4a of the Penal Code, this should protect your future, but, all in all, I would consult an Attorney before deciding what to do..........good luck pdm

Re: Petty theft charges

Prior to composing this reply I read both Patrick and Barry's replies. There are insufficient facts in your statement to evaluate if the case is defendable or not. However you should not plead guilty without discussing the case with an attorney, which includes the Public Defender. These cases used to be given an offer by the D. A. to plead to Criminal Trespass and $50.00 to $150.00 fine plus the Penalty Assessment, now 170% of the fine. The last time I did a petty theft case. The offer was to plead to the offense charged. And the fine plus P. & A. was higher.