Edwards, CO Criminal Defense Law Firms & Lawyers

I would be very cautious about this, especially if your son plans on contesting the charges or taking the matter to trial as such a letter could be admitted against him as a confession or statement by a party opponent. Depending on what type of charges it is, such a letter could also nix any chance of a no contest plea or be used against him in a civil proceeding on the same matter. Discuss this thoroughly with his attorney and make sure he understands the possible consequences before doing this.

Theft from a store of less than $100 is usually treated as a shoplifting charge in Massachusetts. Shoplifting is punishable by a fine for a first and second offense. To prevent your school or your employer from learning about this theft it will be necessary to prevent an application for a criminal complaint for shoplifting from issuing. You would be advised to retain an attorney for this purpose. The attorney will know the procedure that needs to be followed to prevent a criminal complaint from issuing. It is imperative that the attorney be contacted immediately as the attorney will probably want to contact the police department before any application for a criminal complaint is filed. The police can approach this matter in one of two ways: they can apply for criminal complaint and request the clerk's hearing or they can apply for criminal complaint without a hearing. An attorney can assist you in receiving a hearing before a clerk magistrate. If the matter is resolved before the clerk magistrate, neither your school nor your employerare likely to find out about the theft.