Walk It Through: The Jacket
Less than $1,000 is a class 1 misdemeanor, an arrest on probable cause, and sealing after three years.
A college student walks out of a department store wearing a jacket that was never paid for, and an officer standing by the exit sees it.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One jacket and one conviction. Felony theft, the prosecutor's response to a petition, and marijuana expungement are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Petty offenseThe grade below a misdemeanor, with no jail listed and a fine up to $300.
- Warrantless arrestAn arrest without a warrant, on probable cause to believe a felony was committed and the person committed it, or a misdemeanor in the officer's presence, among the grounds the section lists.
- Misdemeanor classHow Arizona grades misdemeanors: class 1 carries up to six months and $2,500, class 2 up to four months and $750, class 3 up to 30 days and $500.
- TheftMore than taking: knowingly controlling another's property with intent to deprive, misusing entrusted property, obtaining property or services by a material misrepresentation, or keeping lost property without reasonable efforts to find the owner. Less than $1,000 is a class 1 misdemeanor.
- MarijuanaFor an adult at least twenty-one years of age, possessing one ounce or less, of which not more than five grams is concentrate, is lawful and may not be the basis for detention, search or arrest.
- SealingClosing all case records of an offense on petition, once every term of the sentence is complete and the waiting period for the class has run: five years for a class 4, 5 or 6 felony, three years for a class 1 misdemeanor.
- Set asideAn order setting aside a judgment of guilt, which a person who completes probation or sentence and is discharged may apply to the sentencing court for, with no filing fee.