shoplifting, court date is tomorrow!... Deferral?

My little sister got caught shoplifting fifty dollars worth of accessories. Both of my parents and I will be with her tomorrow as she appears before a D.A. Our dad is telling her that we will be asking for a deferral... I'm trying to be there for her, but I dont really know much at all about this kind of stuff. She is 17 and my dad plans to talk on her behalf, but it's hard to comprehend when you dont know what that means... When the D.A asks her how she pleads, she is going to say, "not guilty" because the people of the store have a history for not showing up. And then after the plea, she will ask for a deferral. What does this mean? What is a deferral? If our relationship with our dad wasnt so awful I would ask him, but I really would prefer not to, I just want to be there for my sister.

Denis M

A deferral means deferred sentence, which is not a conviction (in Massachusetts, we have what is called a continuance without a finding, also known as a c.w.o.f., which is the same thing as a deferred sentence). She will be on probation for a certain amount of time (must be agreed upon by d.a. and judge) and the charges will technically be considered "pending", even though there is a disposition. There is also a possibility that your sister may have to perform community service and/or pay fines and she will most likely be required to stay away from the store during probation. If your sister abides by the terms of the deferred sentence (assuming she is granted one), the charges will be dismissed. I'm not sure what state you live in, but if you live in Massachusetts, and if your sister is able to get this type of disposition and abides by the terms of probation, the charges would NOT show up on a criminal background check because of the new c.o.r.i. law bills that were passed by the state senate and house. If your father is trying to postpone the case, he would have to motion for a continuance to a future date. However, it would be in the best interest of your sister if she were to hire an attorney and let him/her talk on your sister's behalf. Make sure that your sister and everyone else in the family says NOTHING because anything she/anyone in the family says will be used AGAINST your sister. Your sister can petition the court to appoint an attorney to her but court appointed attorneys have a reputation of not always getting the best plea bargain for their clients and as a result, have a bad reputation (not all court appointed attorneys are like this, but some are). Also, just because the store employees have a history of not showing up doesn't mean that the case will be dismissed. Since they have already filed criminal charges, the case is now in the hands of the d.a. I wish your sister, you, and your family the best of luck in these stressful times.

CaroLynnie

Your sister better have a damn good excuse that will blow the judge away if she plans on pleading not guilty. She committed a misdemeanor, she'll just get a slap on the wrist. It's not a felony.
She should speak on her own behalf and plead guilty, the judge will likely go easier on her if she does.

Murphy

Is he going to ask for a continuance? Defer is usually used as in defer a sentence (like jail time) She should talk with a lawyer. I'm not sure it's a good idea to plead not guilty...if she IS guilty.

NeoNerd

It means he will ask the court to push back the date of the trial. He will have to have a good reason for it.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: