Legal Question in Criminal Law in Arizona

Az Bad Check Writer

My sister is being charged with a felony for bad check writing form 3 checks she had written back in 2004. She did not intentionally write the bad checks in fact one of the business had 2 checks written to them and the other one went through. She was paying them back in installments and then fell onto some hard times and fell behind. The total amount is under $5000.00, and I thought that I read somewhere that under $5,000 , it would be considered a misdemenor not a felony. When she went to court for her first appearance, the judge would even let her enter a plea! She has made MANY attempts to see the public defender, and they have not returned any of her calls so she went to their office and they hadn't even gotten any papers on her case yet. Today she went to court and her name was crossed of the docket and when she asked about it they told her she was being (I know I'm gonna spell this wrong) indicted and her case moved to superior court and that she would have the chance to see the public defender 15 minutes before going before the judge. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what her options are or what is the general sentence for something like this.? I appreciate any and all thoughts regarding this.


Asked on 9/26/06, 7:55 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Christopher Winchell Winchell Law, PLC

Re: Az Bad Check Writer

From what you have told me, the best advice I can give you is to hire a private defense attorney. It sounds like they have also charged her with theft. Theft ranges from a misdemeanor if less than $250, all the way up to a class 2 felony if more than $25,000. The difference is the intent. With theft, they have to show that she intended to steal the goods, whereas someone could write a bad check because they were negligent and didn't calculate their balance. The sentence depends upon the facts of the case. It could be probation, yet again it could be confinement time. For example, theft of $3,000 is a class 3 felony with a recommended statutory confinement sentence of 3.5 years for a first offense. For more information on theft charges, please visit my website at www.win-law.com. If you are interested in hiring a private attorney, please give me a call.

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Answered on 9/26/06, 8:15 pm


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