Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Petty thief
Hi, my friend commit a very bad action. She is a single mother struggling to make ends meet. Her son's father's birthday was a day after the action, her son was crying asking her to get something for his father's birthday, she to a store to get something, sometime in there she put items in her hand bag, (I dont know what she was thinking). she was cought and the police was called, the items were less than $200, she had no prior record to this, not even traffic. she has a job and is a very hard working woman. My question is. What can be done for this not to go into her record, can a public defender help her to get the following?. (I searched this online) and I founded these options. 1: To speak with the store and ask them not to press charges. In case they do so, then the court will still need to be convinced not to press charges. 2: To ask the court to consider it as an infarction, which probably is the lowest category like violation. 3: Althought I do not remember the exact terminology, but the court would put her on a time frame, between 6 months to a year, during which there would be no other incident and then to NOT put it on her record. Her court day is on July 24th. She can not afford a lawyer. please any help. Thank you.

Asked on 7/13/08, 3:21 pm

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Re: Petty thief

If she can't afford private counsel, she needs to apply for the Public Defender when she goes to court. Her attorney will answer her questions.

Before agreeing to anything with the store, she needs to consult with her attorney.

Answered on 7/14/08, 1:39 pm

Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

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Re: Petty thief

How does she know she can't afford a lawyer? How many lawyers has she called?

Answered on 7/13/08, 6:28 pm

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