Walk It Through: The Jacket
A fine for shoplifting under $250, a phone call within one hour, and sealing after 3 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. Larceny over $1,200, felony sealing after 7 years, and bail 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.
- LarcenyStealing, obtaining property by a false pretense with intent to defraud, or converting another's property with intent to steal or embezzle.
- ShopliftingTaking or concealing merchandise, switching price tags or containers, recording a lower price, or taking a shopping cart, with intent to deprive the merchant; under $250 a first offense is punished by a fine.
- FelonyA crime punishable by death or imprisonment in the state prison; all other crimes are misdemeanors.
- Resisting arrestKnowingly preventing or trying to prevent a police officer acting under color of official authority from arresting oneself or another, by using or threatening force, or by means creating a substantial risk of bodily injury.
- SealingClosing a criminal record, done by the commissioner of probation on a signed request once a misdemeanor record is 3 years old or a felony record 7, with no new conviction in that time.
- Personal recognizanceRelease without surety, which a person held under arrest gets unless the judicial officer decides it will not reasonably assure appearance in court.