Theft / Petit Theft / Retail Theft / Conviction / Criminal Record / Diversion / Dismissal / Student / TMI on the Internet / AVVO / Michael A. Haber, Esq. **ARRESTED / **305DUI
Q: Will I be able to avoid conviction easily without a lawyer? I got charged for petit theft because I thought it would be a good idea to take some electronic razor heads from a store to fix my razor to save time for studying. It was very stupid and am haunted by that day every day. I was sent to jail for one night and now I have to go to court. I want to plead guilty for doing such an immature thing. I am an Aerospace Engineering Student, Senior now with a GPA of 3.429 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I want to plead guilty with out a conviction. Any form of diversion or fine is okay. Also I do not have a lawyer and deciding whether I should request a public defender. I have never been charged with anything before. What are my chances? Thanks in advance!
Answered . Do NOT plead guilty. You will have a permanent criminal conviction on your record which WILL effect your future.
You are not your average mope and obviously have an awful lot to lose. You absolutely SHOULD consult with an experienced Daytona Beach criminal defense attorney before committing yourself to anything in court. That said, If this is your first offense then it is almost certain that you will be eligible for a diversionary program.
Diversion is a program which is designed to make you think twice about future criminality by way of making you jump through a series of proverbial hoops during a period of supervision, successful completion of which results in a dismissal. The program is owned and operated by the State Attorney's Office and they have absolute and unequivocal discretion as to whether to admit you, keep you or "graduate" you from their program.
Knowing that, the question now is whether or not diversion is right for you. There may or may not be viable defenses to the charges, affirmative or otherwise, or there may be factual, legal, procedural or substantive mechanisms by which to attack and beat the charges without going through diversion.
The best way for you to get competent advise is going to be to have a face-to-face meeting with a criminal defense lawyer who can follow-up on your information with questions of her/his own, as well as review the police reports and citations and then offer an informed opinion.
Please take a look at my Avvo Legal Guide on diversion in Florida. It contains a great deal of information on the subject and should be helpful to you.
In addition, please note that anything that you post on Avvo (or similar sites) or on any social media is by its nature public. It is essentially an admission / confession and can be introduced into evidence as a statement against your interest in a subsequent legal proceeding. Once posted you lose any reasonable expectation of privacy, and as this is an open forum there is no attorney client privilege attached, so be careful (forewarned is forearmed.)
I hope that this has been helpful and wish you the best of luck!
First, second and third: No attorney-client relationship exists by virtue of any Q&A with Michael A. Haber, Esq. on Avvo. Fourth: Anything that you post on Avvo (or on similar sites) or on any social media is by its nature public. It is essentially an admission / confession and can be introduced into evidence as a statement against your interest in a subsequent legal proceeding. Once posted you lose any reasonable expectation of privacy, so, as this is an open forum (with no privilege attached), please be extra careful when considering what to post online (forewarned is forearmed.)
For more than 23 years Michael A. Haber, P.A. has been providing creative, effective and zealous advocacy and counsel in cases ranging from DUI to drug trafficking and from misdemeanors to first degree murder.
At Michael A. Haber, P.A. "Its all about reasonable doubt"!
Michael A. Haber, Esq. is prepared to speak with you about your case!
1-888-SHARK-8-1, 305-381-8686, 305-798-2220, **ARRESTED, **305DUI, **MIAMIDUI, **MIAMILAW or **HABERLAW.
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