Walk It Through: The Shoplifting Stop
A store employee at the door, a citation for a misdemeanor, and a dismissed charge years later.
At the exit of a store, an employee stops a shopper and says an item was not paid for.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A first theft under $1,000. A third theft, which is a felony at any value, and a store's civil demand letter are not walked 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.
- CitationA charging document for a misdemeanor, which a person accepts as a promise to appear in court at the time and date it gives.
- ExpungementClassifying a record in the state's central repository so it is not disseminated outside criminal justice agencies, with the court file sealed.
- FelonyA crime that can be punished by death or by imprisonment for more than one year. Every other crime is a misdemeanor.
- TheftKnowingly taking or keeping control of someone else's property without authorization, by threat or by deception, meaning to deprive them of it; also receiving property known to be stolen.
- Simple assaultUnlawfully trying to cause bodily injury to another, with the present ability to do it; a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $750.