Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: shoplifting-misdimeaner

$500 FINE AND/OR 93 DAYS IN JAIL

RECORD? DEPENDS ON HER AGE.

Re: shoplifting-misdimeaner

Following up on the first response that it "depends on her age" whether she'll have a record:

First, if she's a juvenile (under 17), her case will be in the juvenile court, and the jail/fines noted in the first reply do not apply. Juvenile court focuses on rehabilitation, not punishment, and jail/fines are punishment-oriented. Also, juvenile delinquency cases are not criminal, so technically she would have only an adjudication, not a conviction. Also, if this is a first-offense, the juvie court has a process called Consent Calendar that can result in the case being dismissed after a successful probation period. Restitution would still have to be paid in full.

If she is 17 to 20 yrs old, then she might be able to get Holmes Youthful Trainee Act status. (Read up on it at http://www.eatoncounty.org/prosecutor/define.htm#H .) It's a discretionary call by a judge to put someone on HYTA status, but if she gets it she can walk away with no conviction if she successfully completes probation.

If she's older than 21, she'd have a conviction. But, if this is her one and only conviction 5 years from now, she can apply to have the conviction set aside (called expungment).

Re: shoplifting-misdimeaner

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