Legal Question in Criminal Law in Massachusetts

I was in a grocery store shopping, when I grabbed a bottle of Aleve (pain medication $7), and continued shopping. Once I had a lot of items, I had to put the Aleve, along with a jar of peanut butter in my pocket, to continue shopping. When I was done, I paid for all of my groceries, including the peanut butter, but decided I did not want the Aleve anymore. Instead of leaving it at the counter for the clerk to do, I decided to return it to the shelf for her since it was fairly close to the door. Before I could even walk away from the counter (after paying) the manager approached me, accused me of stealing, and called the police. He did not allow me to even explain, and neither did the police when they arrived, other than to give my ID and information. They gave me a no trespassing order, and told me I would receive a summons to court. I just received the summons, but now I do not know what to do. I am low on money, so I would like getting a lawyer to be a last resort, but do they have a good case against me? What should I do now? I am sure judges hear all types of lies, so will the judge even believe me. I have no criminal record, and this is a first offense.


Asked on 4/28/10, 9:36 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Dominic Pang The Law Office of Dominic L. Pang

You will receive a summons to appear to a clerk-magistrates hearing. The clerk will determine if there is probable cause to issue the complaint, and if he decides that probable cause exists, he will schedule an date for you to come into court to be arraigned. You should appear at the clerk's hearing, preferably with an attorney, as the clerk's hearing is your first and best opportunity to resolve this charge as soon as possible and with as little collateral impact as possible and an experienced attorney often helps yo get the best result possible at the clerk's hearing level. In order to preserve your spotless record, you want to avoid being arraigned on this charge because if you are formally arraigned, the shoplifting charge will appear on your record regardless of how the charge is ultimately resolved.

If the matter does go to an arraignment, when you have no criminal record, first offense shoplifting is usually dismissed upon court costs by the assistant district attorney. If an arraignment is scheduled, the key is getting the matter dismissed before being formally arraigned, for the reason stated above. Again, having an attorney with you goes a long way towards accomplishing the goal of keeping your record clean.

I would be happy to speak with you about your case, feel free to contact my office at 617-538-1127.

Best of luck,

Dominic Pang

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Answered on 5/04/10, 3:48 am


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