Legal Question in Criminal Law in New Jersey

Re: please help me figure out what is going to happen

For the first charge, shoplifting, you are facing up to six months in jail, heavy fines, and ten days community service. In addition to that, you will have to pay $150.00 to the store you shoplifted from and forever be barred from entering that store or any of it's other stores in the world of the same store chain. In reality though,you probably won't get jail time if this is a first offense for you. However, there is always the possibility of jail time so don't let anyone tell you that there is absolutely no way you would go to jail. The second charge, Criminal Trespass, is much more serious. That charge is a fourth degree felony that will be heard at the county court and not just the local municipal court. On a fourth degree felony the maximum jail time is 18 months in state prison and ten thousand dollars in fines. The same thing that I said above about going to jail applies to this charge also. However, if you are first convicted on the shoplifting the likelihood of going to prison on the trespass charge increases.As to having your rights read to you, that only applies if you made any statements to the police before your rights were read to you, and the police then want to use those statements against you to try and convict you. You say that you have a public defender and that means you have a lawyer, at least for the shoplifting charge. If you want to hire a private lawyer you have the right to do so, and he could take over your case from the public defender. You definitely need a lawyer for the criminal trespass charge. I don't know what your personal situation is, if you still live with your parents or whatever. If you do live with them or they are still supporting you, you should probably talk to them about these charges. At 18 you are considered an adult so you don't have to discuss this with them, but I would still recommend it. I am an attorney who has handled many cases similar to yours in various courts in New Jersey in the past. I would like to talk to you about your case in more detail. Please contact me about this. There is never any charge for simply talking to me about a case. Thank you.

Sincerely yours, Ronald Aronds, Esq.

www.njworkerscompensationlaw.com

Re: please help me figure out what is going to happen

You must avoid a conviction for shoplifting because it is theft, a crime or moral turpitude, and no computer company, bank, insurance company, home health aide provider and a slew of other employers will not and often cannot hire someone who has been convicted stealing. The charge could be downgraded to something that is not stealing.

Your other charge is a crime of the third degree. Hire a lawyer or get someone to help you hire a lawyer.

Gary Moore, Esquire

www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com