Shoplifting and F-1 visa

[mmm2]

NEW YORK Manhattan

I was charged with petty larceny for shoplifting in Manhattan. I am a student on an F-1 visa. My court date is in August at Midtown Community Court. It's next to impossible for me to afford a lawyer.

1. Is Legal Aid Society a good idea or should I work at gathering money from everywhere?
2. Can I have my court date moved up from August to say June? If so, how?
3. What is a better solution for me considering I am an international student and will need to go through immigration desks at airports every 6 months or so: ACD or Disorderly Conduct?
4. Is there a possibility that I can negotiate with the store for charges to be dropped? It is a big chain departmental store in Manhattan.
5. When can I ideally travel out of the country so as to be able to return with ease?
6. I have not yet received a civil demand letter. Should I do something? If I get one, must I pay?

 

[Proserpina]

NEW YORK Manhattan

I was charged with petty larceny for shoplifting in Manhattan. I am a student on an F-1 visa. My court date is in August at Midtown Community Court. It's next to impossible for me to afford a lawyer.

1. Is Legal Aid Society a good idea or should I work at gathering money from everywhere?

You can try Legal Aid, sure. They might not want to take the case though.

2. Can I have my court date moved up from August to say June? If so, how?

Why?

3. What is a better solution for me considering I am an international student and will need to go through immigration desks at airports every 6 months or so: ACD or Disorderly Conduct?

That's your choice - we can't guess for you.

4. Is there a possibility that I can negotiate with the store for charges to be dropped? It is a big chain departmental store in Manhattan.

Yes - you can ask.

5. When can I ideally travel out of the country so as to be able to return with ease?

We cannot guess that, either. but if it were me I wouldn't be leaving the country just yet.

6. I have not yet received a civil demand letter. Should I do something? If I get one, must I pay?

Put it this way - if you don't pay, you should expect criminal charges

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Hopefully the petty larceny charge will stop renewal of your visa in the future. We do not need to import thieves, we have enough here already.

 

[mmm2]

I need to go abroad for personal reasons around the same time as the court date

 

[davew128]

4. Is there a possibility that I can negotiate with the store for charges to be dropped? It is a big chain departmental store in Manhattan.

Its not up to the store, its up to the District Attorney, and thats not likely.

 

[Proserpina]

I need to go abroad for personal reasons around the same time as the court date

Then do what you want.

 

[FlyingRon]

1. Is Legal Aid Society a good idea or should I work at gathering money from everywhere?

Legal aid can give you some advice. Most likely, I would suspect they would tell you that if you are truly indigent (the fact that you are not a US national is irrelevant) that you can apply for and obtain legal counsel (public defender) without up front cost to you. Note however, that these defenders probably are not versed in immigration law. They're only there because you have the possibility of going to jail. They may known enough to warn you that a guilty plea may result in your deportation, but finer information than that you might find available through your school.

2. Can I have my court date moved up from August to say June? If so, how?

Extremely unlikely. The courts do not run for your convenience.

3. What is a better solution for me considering I am an international student and will need to go through immigration desks at airports every 6 months or so: ACD or Disorderly Conduct?

Read this document. It's 100% applicable to your situation:
http://www.cyrusmehta.com/News.aspx?SubIdx=ocyrus20104984513

4. Is there a possibility that I can negotiate with the store for charges to be dropped? It is a big chain departmental store in Manhattan.

It is NOT the department store that is charging you. It is the STATE OF NEW YORK. It is society that is harmed by your crime of moral turpitude. Once the store reports it to the police, it is largely out of their hands.

5. When can I ideally travel out of the country so as to be able to return with ease?

It would depend on how it plays out. It can be anywhere from the day after your court date, to NEVER.

6. I have not yet received a civil demand letter. Should I do something? If I get one, must I pay?

That's up to you. Usually the "lawyers" who are on the letter head are really not much more than a billing company hoping to get some easy recovery of money for the damages people like you cause the retail industry. You'll have to gamble if their threat of civil litigation is real or not. In the past, it was pretty unlikely they would pursue it, but I've heard that some of the major stores have changed their tune after lots of attorneys told their clients to just ignore them.

 

[HighwayMan]

I've never been in Midtown Community Court but it's supposedly more lenient than the regular courts, especially 346 Broadway and that's lenient to begin with.

I don't know how it operates but if you have no record then you can try asking the judge for an ACD - you probably have a good chance of getting it. Petit Larceny is a misdemeanor and if you're not granted an ACD you probably won't end up pleading guilty to anything more than a violation. I have no idea how that affects your immigration status - you'll have to find out on your own if you want to be sure.