Legal Question in Criminal Law in Missouri

Hi. I am a St. Louis criminal defense attorney that handles stealing and forgery charges in most courts in Missouri. The forgery charge is more serious than the stealing charge. Forgery charges, if you are convicted or plead guilty, can potentially result in jail time. One of the unfortunate additional effects of a forgery or stealing charge is that, if you are convicted or plead guilty, it will go on your permanent record and will substantially affect your ability to obtain employment in the future, as nearly all employers do criminal background checks.

From your question, there is not enough detail to know what county these charges are pending in. An attorney would be able to work out an agreement with the local prosecutor whereby you could likely avoid jail time and potentially plead guilty to a different offense. This would prevent the stealing and forgery charges from going on your permanent record and making it extremely difficult for you to obtain future employment. If the attorney works out a plea agreement, you may have to pay a fine and have a period of probation, but it would be unusual to serve jail time, unless you have many prior offenses. Additional detail is needed to determine the likely outcome of these charges. Thanks.

For your convenience, I can be reached via e-mail at [email protected], or by phone at (314) 471-5585.

Our office website is www.harvathmissouriillinoislawyers.com

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