Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

If the petty theft was listed as a misdemeanor rather than a felony you are in better shape. Make sure it is classified as a misdemeanor! Being with a friend in a retail store is not sufficient to find you guilty. The authorities must prove that YOU were guilty or both. If you never handled the jacket and you did not assist your friend in any way, They would have a hard time finding you guilty. They could try conspiracy. This is a way to get several people charged with a crime, but they must still prove that you all agreed to do something illegal. Remember that they must find you guilty BEYOND a reasonable doubt. That means there can be virtually no doubt that you were part of the criminal activity. They will probably try to get you to plead guilty, perhaps to some even lessor offense just to move the process along. This can be tempting to you because it means no trial, BUT you will still have to accept guilty to something. If REALLY REALLY had nothing to do with the jacket, plead not guilty and go for it. A public defender should be used. By all means have an attorney. Do not permit the public attorney to plead you out just to be a part of the system. they can do this and this is not helpful! If you can pay $250/hour and are prepared to spend $10,000 a private attorney would fight harder for you. This would go on your record, but it can be expunged after a few years...meaning removed form your record if you behaved in the mean time. You might also take a DEJ where you plead to a lessor charge but it gets thrown out after one year of good behavior. Good luck.