Woodland Park NJ Shoplifting Defense Attorneys
Woodland Park (formerly “West Paterson) NJ Criminal Defense
Have you been arrested for shoplifting in Woodland Park NJ? We can help.
Travis J. Tormey of the Tormey Law Firm LLC recently represented a client charged with shoplifting in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11. The alleged shoplifting was an amount under $200, so it was graded as a disorderly persons offense and was handled in the Woodland Park Municipal Court. As such, if our client was convicted of this offense he would be subject to the following penalties: up to a $1,000 fine, up to six (6) months in the Passaic County Jail, possible probation, and a permanent criminal charge on his record. This criminal charge could be expunged off his record after 5 years in certain cases. In addition, because our client was not a United States citizen, this “crime of moral turpitude” could lead to serious immigration consequences such as denial of a green card or even deportation.
Enter Not Guilty Plea and Request Discovery Evidence From the State
Once the client hires the Tormey Law Firm to represent him, we contact the court and enter a letter of representation letting the court know that our office will be handling this matter for the defendant. In addition, we enter a “not guilty” plea and request all of the discovery evidence from the State – discovery is all of the evidence the State possesses and intends to rely upon to try to prove the charges against our client beyond a reasonable doubt in court. This typically includes police reports, witness statements, videos from the store, bodycam footage from the police officers, etc.
Criminal Charge Downgraded to Code Violation – No Criminal Record!
Our client had no prior criminal history and was charged with shoplifting from a store in Woodland Park. Based on the alleged amount of the shoplift (it was not a high amount), our client’s completely clean record, and the circumstances surrounding the alleged charge, our shoplifting defense lawyers were able to negotiate a plea arrangement with the Woodland Park Municipal Prosecutor whereby the criminal charge was amended to a local ordinance violation for creating a disturbance in the store. This is a violation of local law and is on the level of a littering ticket or leaving your garbage at the curb on the wrong day. This violation results in a fine and no criminal record.
This was a very important result for the client as he was able to preserve his clean record and potentially avoid any serious immigration consequences as well.