Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

First piece of legal advice: drop the attitude. You're asking for free legal advice, and most attorneys' time to provide any kind of meaningful answer is worth at least a hundred bucks, so your last sentence is pretty rude. Judges and prosecutors can smell a defendant with a bad attitude a mile away, and it doesn't help the outcome of your case.

Vandalism under $400 is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, plus fines of a thousand dollars (and other fees and penalties that can triple that amount). A first offender rarely gets the maximum, and you would be far more likely to get probation, possibly with some jail time, and a much lower fine.

The judge is also required to suspend your drivers license for up to a year, unless there's a good reason not to.

The charges you face in court may not be the same charges the officer wrote down when you were arrested. The District Attorney will review the police reports and decide what charges to file. The actual charges can range from a misdemeanor to felony commercial burglary, if the District Attorney believes you intended to steal something when you entered the store.

You should discuss the possibility of a "civil compromise" with your lawyer. That's where you pay for the damage you caused and the victim asks to have the charges dismissed. A judge must approve of the arrangement.

If you can't afford to hire an attorney, you're entitled to one at government expense and the judge will appoint the public defender to represent you.

With no prior record, you *may* be able to work something out to keep this from becoming a conviction on your record. I say may because it depends on how it's charged by the DA, which judge you're in front of and what your lawyer can work out. If you have any way to retain an attorney, the court will want you to do that before appointing the public defender. The benefit to getting an attorney is that there may be things you can do to get yourself in the best possible position to spare you a conviction before even your first court date. As a bonus, your attorney can make the court appearances for you and you may not have to appear in court at all.

There are some pretty harsh consequences for vandalism, so either a theft or a vandalism charge can be tough to have on your record. Avoiding a conviction in the first place is what you're shooting for. What can actually happen? It really all depends on the facts of the case and what your lawyer can work out.

Of course, you don't have to work out a deal at all if they can't prove the case against you. Were there improper things done by store security? (trust me - it happens and can lead to major reduction in charges and better deals if not dismissals) Were there Miranda issues by the police, making any statements inadmissible? There are legal and factual defenses as well as negotiating your case to something much less serious, if not a dismissal.

I practice in Orange County - let me know if you want to discuss it further.

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