Walk It Through: The Jacket
Petit larceny at any value, an appearance ticket, and sealing three years on.
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. The higher degrees of larceny, sealing on application after ten years, and the arraignment 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.
- Appearance ticketA written notice directing a person to appear in a named local criminal court at a set future time, issued instead of taking the person to court after an arrest for many lower offenses.
- Class A misdemeanorThe higher misdemeanor class, carrying up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.
- Order of protectionA Family Court order setting reasonable conditions of behavior for no more than two years, or up to five years on aggravating circumstances.
- Own recognizanceRelease on the person's own promise to return, which the court orders pending trial unless the charge is a qualifying offense or it finds this will not reasonably assure the person's return.
- Search warrantA court's warrant to search, executed not more than ten days after it was issued, and only between 6:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. unless it expressly authorizes any time.
- Grand larcenyLarceny graded as a felony. In the fourth degree, a class E felony, it includes property worth more than $1,000.
- Petit larcenyStealing property, whatever its value. A class A misdemeanor.
- Physical injuryImpairment of physical condition or substantial pain, the harm assault in the third degree turns on.
- SealingClosing a criminal record. A misdemeanor conviction is sealed automatically once at least three years have passed since release, or sentence if there was none, and a felony conviction once at least eight years have passed.