14 and charged with class A misdemeanor, over found shoes

[Isis1]

wow, so this is how we treat our children. attourney said it can all be dropped and taken care of for only $1000.00 bucks. so what happens to the poor who make a mistake. we learn from the mistakes we make but it you have no money your screwed. these poor kids will have to take the charge and no money for college so, go work at mcdonalds. can't these parents make sure the child is punished in a way that doesnt take away their future??????????? oh, thats right, no one cares**************.

oh no, no. see, i'm am the parent of a 11 year old thief. yep, that's right. not days ago my child saw fit to steal this weeks grocery money. now, the state would only book him for 6 hours, then release him, so i'd rather punish him at home more harshly. i'd rather my son get punished appropriately NOW then AFTER he is 18 and it's on his record forever.

 

[divona2000]

...if no one claims something in the lost and found at the end of the year, anyone is allowed to take whats left home...

Is this actual, written school policy, and do you have a copy of said policy?

 

[william mullins]

You know he stole.



The legal system agrees he stole.



You think there's a gray area in thievery? You're not as worried about him having good values as you are about him getting financial aid for college.



Yep, they get punished for breaking the law.



It will be good for Junior to have a job to pay what HE owes.

===>This is a preamble to what Junior will be going through in court. They won't be as nice as the people on this board.

ok, here is the answer for all you wanna be lawyers, the answer is " he is not guilty of theft of property, it is called petty theft. he can not be charged with a class A misdemeanor when he did not intend, in his mind of stealing them. charges will be dropped for first time, only have to pay court cost. also the other kid is not allowed any restitution because he has the property. so, for 100 dollars, he gets nothing but lesson learned. as far as this question, this is the answer i was looking for. not your morals or values. you have no idea what i teach my son, this is not the question. for all of you who are not on here to just answer the legal question find something ealse to do. for the ones who need the FREE LEGAL advise, you have just learned how the system works. there are people behind those "secretary" desks who are to busy trying to get into your personal life, instead of sticking to the help desk.

 

[FlyingRon]

Your mens rea means nothing. Maybe he thought there was nothing wrong with stealing, but that makes him a sociopath, but he INTENDED to take them. He knew they did not belong to him, they belonged to someone else, and they were in the lost and found for the benefit for the person who lost them, not for some snot nose to pick them up because they looked attractive.

 

[cyjeff]

ok, here is the answer for all you wanna be lawyers, the answer is " he is not guilty of theft of property, it is called petty theft.

Which is still theft.

he can not be charged with a class A misdemeanor when he did not intend, in his mind of stealing them

If he didn't really steal them, why did you punish him so harshly?

charges will be dropped for first time, only have to pay court cost.

Lucky.

also the other kid is not allowed any restitution because he has the property. so, for 100 dollars, he gets nothing but lesson learned. as far as this question, this is the answer i was looking for. not your morals or values. you have no idea what i teach my son, this is not the question.

Uh huh.

for all of you who are not on here to just answer the legal question find something ealse to do. for the ones who need the FREE LEGAL advise, you have just learned how the system works. there are people behind those "secretary" desks who are to busy trying to get into your personal life, instead of sticking to the help desk.

I have authorized you a complete refund.

Bye.

 

[stealth2]

This begs the question of what would have happened if the shoes had not been deemed so nasty that they were fit only for a more disadvantaged child...

I will admit that I was amused by the presumption that the skanky, nasty shoes would be okay for a poor kid.

 

[BOR]

Is this actual, written school policy, and do you have a copy of said policy?

That is what I would like to know? IF students are aware that any item not claimed by the school year end is considered abandoned, then it becomes the property of the school and they can then make it a grab bag for anyone!

IF this is the case, it is not theft.

 

[Zigner]

That is what I would like to know? IF students are aware that any item not claimed by the school year end is considered abandoned, then it becomes the property of the school and they can then make it a grab bag for anyone!

IF this is the case, it is not theft.

Ok, let's be real. If that WERE the case (the whole "grab bag" thing), then the school would have stepped right up and said "No, it's our policy that this becomes a grab bag". The school has NOT backed up the kid's story

 

[BOR]

Ok, let's be real. If that WERE the case (the whole "grab bag" thing), then the school would have stepped right up and said "No, it's our policy that this becomes a grab bag". The school has NOT backed up the kid's story

Good point, but there is no need to be sarcastic, is there?

 

[quincy]

BOR actually brings up a good point, however. I did a cursory review of several Arkansas school handbooks (for elementary, middle and high schools throughout the state) and all of them have "Lost and Found" policies. All are variations on the same theme.

"Lost and Found items will be placed in the multi-purpose room for a reasonable length of time. Students and parents should check the area when something has been lost. Unclaimed items will be disposed of periodically," "Unclaimed lost and found items are donated to charity on the last Friday of each month," "Lost and found items will be discarded periodically," "All items not claimed will be given to charities," "Lost and found items will be discarded if not claimed" . . . . .

If an item is scheduled for disposal or discard or donation, would it still be considered "theft" if a student takes the item before it is tossed? Courts have ruled that items disposed of in the trash are free for the taking.

Nowhere in any of the handbooks that I reviewed does it say that Lost and Found is a "grab bag," certainly, but I am wondering if the taking of items prior to disposal would really be considered theft.

Not that this applies in any way to the situation here, however. . . .

 

[BOR]

BOR actually brings up a good point, however. I did a cursory review of several Arkansas school handbooks (for elementary, middle and high schools throughout the state) and all of them have "Lost and Found" policies. All are variations on the same theme.

"Lost and Found items will be placed in the multi-purpose room for a reasonable length of time. Students and parents should check the area when something has been lost. Unclaimed items will be disposed of periodically," "Unclaimed lost and found items are donated to charity on the last Friday of each month," "Lost and found items will be discarded periodically," "All items not claimed will be given to charities," "Lost and found items will be discarded if not claimed" . . . . .

If an item is scheduled for disposal or discard or donation, would it still be considered "theft" if a student takes the item before it is tossed? Courts have ruled that items disposed of in the trash are free for the taking.

Nowhere in any of the handbooks that I reviewed does it say that Lost and Found is a "grab bag," certainly, but I am wondering if the taking of items prior to disposal would really be considered theft.

Not that this applies in any way to the situation here, however. . . .

Thanks, I used to work in a school, and similar policies were in place.

Here is my Q. IF the theft issue was so clear cut, why did it take 6 months to issue a summons?

Who is the complainant, the person who owned the shoes, or the school? I don't know?

 

[CavemanLawyer]

wow, so this is how we treat our children. attourney said it can all be dropped and taken care of for only $1000.00 bucks. so what happens to the poor who make a mistake. we learn from the mistakes we make but it you have no money your screwed.

Any attorney who guaranteed a dismissal for $1,000 is unethical and lied to you so you shouldn't get mad based on what he/she represented. No attorney can guarantee a result in a criminal proceeding regardless of how much you pay them and it is a violation of the rules of professional conduct to do so.

Court appointed attorneys are not necessarily worse advocates then retained attorneys. In MANY cases they are actually one in the same because court appointments are a form of advertisement. Even if the attorney can afford to only retain clients, they often still take the occasional appointment because even poor people have rich(er) friends. I have seen people fire stellar court appointed attorneys who charge $20,000 from their retained clients, only to go out and hire horrible attorneys for $5,000.

 

[Zigner]

Good point, but there is no need to be sarcastic, is there?

BOR - my sarcasm wasn't actually aimed at you - although it definitely seemed that way...my apologies.

 

[Antigone*]

BOR - my sarcasm wasn't actually aimed at you - although it definitely seemed that way...my apologies.

Why are you apologizing Zig? We all love good sarcasm.

 

[Zigner]

Why are you apologizing Zig? We all love good sarcasm.

Oh, definitely - but it just seemed unfair that BOR thought it was for him. I mean, if BOR takes it all, then the intended recipient won't get the benefit of it!