Im not sure if the judge is the only one that can remove it from his record. I think a talk with the prosicution office would be in order. Also, try talking to the store owner. Maybe he/she is an understanding person. Ask them if they would consider dropping the charges. It may mean some extra effort on your friends part, but it would be worth it. Sometimes a simple apology can go a long way.

On a side note. Now that it is in the court system, I dont think its as simple as the store owner dropping charges... but if they agree to do so, the court may decide to drop them as well. If both parties agree. usually the court will just throw it out. As long as he doesnt have any other offenses.

If the store owner is present at the court date and demands something be done, your friend is probably screwed.

 

I'm going to come off as a dick by saying thisbut shouldn't HE be the one looking for this information? I just want to know why this is your problem, and what you hope to accomplish by making his mistake go away for him? I got popped for misdemeanor possesion some years back, my Father told me to handle it like a man, no help from him. I learned a lesson that way.
I understand completely that you want to help, but if he's big enough to do something like this (and obviously is old enough to qualify as a "man", being in college and all), shouldn't he be big enough to lie in the bed he made?
My $.02sorry for sounding like a ****.

 

You don't sound like a jerk at all. He's my cousin and he's pretty much like my best friend. He has researched on his part, but he has "limited access" to information. What I mean by that is I have access to this forum and all of your help. How would it be like for you guys to see a new poster here starting off with "I stole something"? I'm just trying to help him like what a friend would do. I'm getting him as much info as I can to help him out. He's carrying out the actions. He's really a good kid and he's never stolen anything before. He's such a nice guy and he wouldn't hurt a fly. It's his stupid friend. I think his friend pressured him to do it.

I called the prosecutors and they stated there's nothing they can do on their part. Paperwork has already been submitted.

Depending on the insurance company, one may be able to receive a cheaper insurance price based on his/her grades from school. When somebody has good grades, it is assumed that person spends more of his/her time in school or studying rather than going out... With such limited time, there isn't much for trouble making. This assumption can apply here too. If you don't see how school can relate to this, then I gotta say go back to school.

 

I'm tellin ya bro, have him try for deffered adjudication, it got me out of a bind once. Have his lawyer talk to the assistant d.a. or whoever the prosecutor is and try to make a plea bargain w/deffered adjucation a part of the term, with somthing this small it should be no big deal. It sure as hell beats doing probation and still having it on his record. Its a fairly common process and is basically designed for people with no prior convictions and minor offenses. Good luck to your friend.

 

Thanks everyone! Any further input is much appreciated.

Thanks, 420cbr. I'll look into it and see if it can apply to him.

 

Gotta get a lawyer. If it is a first offense then it might be possible to get a pre-trial diversion (or whatever they call it in CA). Basically what happens is you plead guilty but the plea is not entered. You pay a fine to the court (and 4 weeks later you get the civil penalty from the store), do some community service ... 40 hrs or so and serve probation. If he keeps his nose clean for 1 year the charges are thrown out ... not expunged because technically they were never recorded. However, if he messes up before 1 year is up then the plea is recorded and jail time for any remaining probation is served. Again, ya gotta get a lawyer. Shoplifting is one of those crimes that is manageable with a lawyer but without one the courts can really screw up your life.

 

I just had someone go through this that I care about as well so I followed it pretty closely but dont remember the details exactly. This also happened in Texas so the laws are different here. My advice is to definately get a lawyer and ask what can be done. It is very hard to get things like this expunged and will cost some $$. In tx that would be a misdemeanor B and will not be removed off your record with deferred adjudication. You will more than likely not go to jail but will receive probation and community service. After that is when you would proceed with trying to get it expunged or that sealed in your record so no one (excluding the gov't, school jobs, and a few others) can see it. I forgot alot of the details now because of all the different possibilities of outcome. Remember this is how it is in tx though...CA laws im sure are different...so my advice would definately be to talk to a lawyer.

 

The only way he'll get the charge expunged is to be proven not guilty.
The courts generally won't even consider expunging a record unless the person was found not to have committed the crime. As far as I know, it's also a Supreme Court decision, and not taken lightly.
Sad, but true.

 

Supreme Court?! Are you serious? At most, I would think Superior Court...

 

The deferred adjudication sounds like our pre-trial diversion. But here it is impossible to get without a lawyer. A similar situation happened with a close family member. Assistant DA would not speak to us about it and refused to deal until she got a lawyer. Everybody always says you hate lawyers until ya need one ... nah, I still hated 'em [8D]