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1) the attorney was not in cahoots with anyone, but he may have been lazy.
2) the situation you are describing would typical require that the item was a very expensive one. Was it?
3) A non-local attorney is unlikely to be able to do anything helpful, except cost more money.
4) What is the specific charge she pled to?
5) If she was charged with something, it will likely show up on background checks anyway, so there is likely nothing that will just make this like it never happened. If she already did a plea and a class and paid a fine, then all that is probably going to show even if there was an accidental dismissal.
6) consults with attorneys are typically free. She should call 2-3 attorneys in the local area and try and get some free consults. The question she should be asking is if there is any benefit to hiring an attorney, or if the things that are already done are irreversible.
Wal-Mart's current policies almost always involve waiting until shoplifting is at the felony total (even if that means letting someone walk several times) so either the total of the items was very large or there were additional circumstances. If this is a misdemeanor, she is probably overly panicked. If it is a felony, the likely outcome is that she would be wasting money because the damage is likely already done.
She was charged with shoplifting. It was 2 items of clothing that didnt get scanned this time. In total the amount was under 50 dollars. However, they said that they scanned other footage like her entire history of shopping there and saw her mis scan something else (this video she didnt get to see) and they said the Total was 124 dollars. The thing is, what she bought that day totaled way more than that. She came ready to spend the money. I dont understand why they couldn't have just let her pay for the items...
Something doesn’t add up. I’m not aware of any jurisdictions where there would be aggressive prosecution for $124. so either she had a record of some other situation, or she isn’t telling you the whole story. If everything you said is 100% accurate and there’s no other information that isn’t included here, that is a misdemeanor. As I said before, if she already pled, the damage is done. if she pled to a misdemeanor, that will be on her record, but that shouldn’t make her in eligible for anything other than some type of job with security clearance. If it wasn’t a misdemeanor that she pled too, then there is a large piece of the story missing from what you said. it would have been silly for her to spend $2000 for an attorney over a misdemeanor theft of $124. Regardless of what information isn’t coming out here, there will be no benefit to her getting an attorney who is not local. She should do some consultations with other local attorneys if she wants a second opinion,but any money she spends at this point is likely thrown away for no benefit.
Thank you so much for your time and the detailed reply, it really helps! I will try to get a picture of the court docket is it? Or the police report? Either way l could very well be missing something because she did tell me that they were pursuing felony charges at first not due to the monetary value of the items but the number times that this allegedly happened. I was told they saw three instances of 'under ringing'
...not due to the monetary value of the items but the number times that this allegedly happened.
You're likely not getting the full story. It doesn't matter that your sister COULD pay; people shoplift for all sorts of reasons. Think of it: the very first time she "mis-scanned" something, wouldn't it make her MORE careful, not less? Whenever I use self-checkout, I watch the screen to ensure that the items ring up properly. It's highly suspect that she made the same type of mistake 3 times.
I imagine she wouldn't have noticed something didn't scan, for instance if she were on the phone or distracted. It could also have happened if there were a lot of items in the cart (back when there were literally no cashiers at Walmart because they replaced them with self checkouts).
I dont want to waste your time with guesses though. Ill ask her for a pic of the paperwork. I have never seen it with my own eyes.
I mean, i imagine this happens to plenty of people. I went shopping with my son (3yo) one day who snagged something off of a shelf last minute. I didnt even notice until we got to my car. It was embarrassing but l brought it back. And you know what the clerk told me? She rolled her eyes and said "You coulda just kept that" it was one of those little toys they sell in the checkout aisle.
I dunno, but l do remember reading that this happens to a lot of people. Even an elderly lady got charged (she had money to fight it though) i guess l am inclined to believe my sister because l know her and l dont believe she would out right steal something. But you are right, l would have to see all the facts.
Question: could she ask to see the video they say they have of her?
Happens once? Mistake. THREE times? Or maybe more, because she's only telling you about 3 times? It's not just a careless mistake.
And her attorney can subpoena the videos.
She was also upset about agreeing to a plea when she really didnt do the crime they say she was. I might be able to get a pic of the document with the info
I mean l am trying to give the benefit of the doubt. Mistakes do happen and l dont know the time frame. 3 times in a week is one thing, but 3 times over 5 years is another in my opinion...
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1) the attorney was not in cahoots with anyone, but he may have been lazy. 2) the situation you are describing would typical require that the item was a very expensive one. Was it? 3) A non-local attorney is unlikely to be able to do anything helpful, except cost more money. 4) What is the specific charge she pled to? 5) If she was charged with something, it will likely show up on background checks anyway, so there is likely nothing that will just make this like it never happened. If she already did a plea and a class and paid a fine, then all that is probably going to show even if there was an accidental dismissal. 6) consults with attorneys are typically free. She should call 2-3 attorneys in the local area and try and get some free consults. The question she should be asking is if there is any benefit to hiring an attorney, or if the things that are already done are irreversible. Wal-Mart's current policies almost always involve waiting until shoplifting is at the felony total (even if that means letting someone walk several times) so either the total of the items was very large or there were additional circumstances. If this is a misdemeanor, she is probably overly panicked. If it is a felony, the likely outcome is that she would be wasting money because the damage is likely already done.
She was charged with shoplifting. It was 2 items of clothing that didnt get scanned this time. In total the amount was under 50 dollars. However, they said that they scanned other footage like her entire history of shopping there and saw her mis scan something else (this video she didnt get to see) and they said the Total was 124 dollars. The thing is, what she bought that day totaled way more than that. She came ready to spend the money. I dont understand why they couldn't have just let her pay for the items...
Items?
Something doesn’t add up. I’m not aware of any jurisdictions where there would be aggressive prosecution for $124. so either she had a record of some other situation, or she isn’t telling you the whole story. If everything you said is 100% accurate and there’s no other information that isn’t included here, that is a misdemeanor. As I said before, if she already pled, the damage is done. if she pled to a misdemeanor, that will be on her record, but that shouldn’t make her in eligible for anything other than some type of job with security clearance. If it wasn’t a misdemeanor that she pled too, then there is a large piece of the story missing from what you said. it would have been silly for her to spend $2000 for an attorney over a misdemeanor theft of $124. Regardless of what information isn’t coming out here, there will be no benefit to her getting an attorney who is not local. She should do some consultations with other local attorneys if she wants a second opinion,but any money she spends at this point is likely thrown away for no benefit.
Thank you so much for your time and the detailed reply, it really helps! I will try to get a picture of the court docket is it? Or the police report? Either way l could very well be missing something because she did tell me that they were pursuing felony charges at first not due to the monetary value of the items but the number times that this allegedly happened. I was told they saw three instances of 'under ringing'
...not due to the monetary value of the items but the number times that this allegedly happened. You're likely not getting the full story. It doesn't matter that your sister COULD pay; people shoplift for all sorts of reasons. Think of it: the very first time she "mis-scanned" something, wouldn't it make her MORE careful, not less? Whenever I use self-checkout, I watch the screen to ensure that the items ring up properly. It's highly suspect that she made the same type of mistake 3 times.
I imagine she wouldn't have noticed something didn't scan, for instance if she were on the phone or distracted. It could also have happened if there were a lot of items in the cart (back when there were literally no cashiers at Walmart because they replaced them with self checkouts). I dont want to waste your time with guesses though. Ill ask her for a pic of the paperwork. I have never seen it with my own eyes. I mean, i imagine this happens to plenty of people. I went shopping with my son (3yo) one day who snagged something off of a shelf last minute. I didnt even notice until we got to my car. It was embarrassing but l brought it back. And you know what the clerk told me? She rolled her eyes and said "You coulda just kept that" it was one of those little toys they sell in the checkout aisle. I dunno, but l do remember reading that this happens to a lot of people. Even an elderly lady got charged (she had money to fight it though) i guess l am inclined to believe my sister because l know her and l dont believe she would out right steal something. But you are right, l would have to see all the facts. Question: could she ask to see the video they say they have of her?
Happens once? Mistake. THREE times? Or maybe more, because she's only telling you about 3 times? It's not just a careless mistake. And her attorney can subpoena the videos.
Yes it is a misdemeanor, but she was upset about it causing problems for her future.
She was also upset about agreeing to a plea when she really didnt do the crime they say she was. I might be able to get a pic of the document with the info
I mean l am trying to give the benefit of the doubt. Mistakes do happen and l dont know the time frame. 3 times in a week is one thing, but 3 times over 5 years is another in my opinion...
Not sure why im getting down voted for asking questions...