Teens and the law

[Sisco]

This isn't gun related, but I am in a quandary and am not sure what course of action to take. Hoping to draw on the collective experience of the High Road members, so if the moderators would show a bit of leniency I would appreciate it.

My daughter, 18, had a little run-in with the law. I've never been to court, never needed a lawyer, not sure what to do next.
The story in a nutshell:
She and some friends had lunch at a fast food place. She was waiting in the car for them when they were done and heard someone say "Pop the trunk". What she didn't know until they left was that two of the other girls swiped a large rug from the doorway of the restaurant. Someone saw it happen and called the law. Police officer shows up at school, asks my daughter about it and she turned the rug over to the officer.
Officer comes by the house the next morning and says the business wants to press charges. Daughter won't rat on her friends so she gets charged with theft. Girlfriends say they're sorry and they'll go to court with her and tell the whole story.
We go to court this morning, all the "friends" have backed out, no one shows.

Here are our choices;
Plead guilty or no contest and pay a $275 fine, she gets a theft charge on her record.
Apply for diversion, pay a $275 diversion fee (if diversion is granted), nothing on her record.
Hire a lawyer (since she's 18 she would qualify for a court-appointed one) subpoena the other girls and take our chances in court. If she's found guilty anyway we could be looking at a maximum of $2500 in fines.

She admits to being guilty of bad judgment but did not participate in taking the rug but since it was her car she is the one charged.
She has also learned a valuable lesson about who her real friends are.
Outside of a couple of traffic tickets she has never been in any trouble before, do not expect her to be in any more.
Any suggestions?

 

[Preacherman]

Sisco, you do NOT want a conviction on her record! I'd fight this one. Get her friends into court any way you can, find witnesses who can testify that she was sitting in the car the whole time and never touched the rug, have the rug checked for her DNA if necessary - but DON'T roll over and play dead as an easy way out! This conviction would probably be enough to prevent her getting a job in many companies, it would affect her credit rating, and so on, and so on. No way you can afford this!

 

[Old Fuff]

The first thing you need too do is talk to a good criminal lawyer. A first counciltation is usually free or for a small fee. He (or she) will want to talk to your daughter and find out EXACTLY what happened. Tell your daughter to be truthful. The truth may hurt, but the attorney is on her side. After hearing the story you will receive a recommendation on what too do. Usuallly your best course is to follow that professional advise.

Remember, in court it's what you can prove , not what you know, or what you believe that's important. If the police found the stolen property in her car this is going to be a hard case to win. However if your daughter doesn't have a previous record the charges May be reduced in a plea agreement. I wish you (her) luck.

 

[JimP]

Your daughter is BS'ing you.

Her car, her control, her trunk, her popping it, her authority....her charges. Get her to come clean with you - no offense, she just ain't telling you the truth.

 

[Blackcloud6]

The only thing you should do is have her see a lawyer. Period. Do not try to be one for her, nor have her go to court without one. She's 18 and an adult. Have her contact the lawyer, and pay for it if she can. This will be a great life lesson on becoming an adult if your do this right.

 

[client32]

I agree with Blackcloud, she is 18, let her make the decision.

 

[Zander]

Daughter won't rat on her friends so she gets charged with theft.

When something very similar happened to me at age 17, I simply told the truth when the sheriff's deputy showed up at my door.

My "friend" [four of us were running around together that day] asked me stop by a business and wait for him while he picked up something. He stole a brand new, off-the-shelf car battery and put it in my trunk without me seeing what it was. Took it out when I dropped him off at his house...I never knew what it was. He later tried to sell it for scrap to a junk dealer! Junk dealer called the cops, cops questioned him, he tried to blame me.

It took all of two questions from the deputy to determine that I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. It took all of two seconds for me to realize that I should know what he was talking about...it was my car, my pride and joy, my responsibility to know who was riding in it and what he might put in my trunk.

If diversion is on the table already, I'd suggest she consider it; but it is her decision and she's the one who's going to have to keep her nose clean for a probation period if she goes that route.

 

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Second blackcloud6 and client32. She's not a child anymore. Let her make the decision.

You could offer to pay for a lawyer if she wants one.

- pdmoderator

 

[El Tejon]

Sisco, as someone who deals with this kind of situation on a daily basis, it would be well within her best interests to consult with an attorney licensed in your state as soon as possible. Best of luck.

 

[anchored]

Talk to the prosecuting attorney. Her friends have proven they aren't, so there's no need to protect them. Give the prosecutor 3 convictions in exchange for dropping the charges against daughter. Other than that, go to court and tell the truth. Assume the other girls will lie, and don't bother subpoenaing them.
Keep in mind, since she kept the rug after she knew about it, she is complicit and could be found to be an accessory after the fact even if she proves she didn't take it. That's why the best choice would be to work out a deal with the prosecutor and the investigating officer.
On the other hand, it would not hurt for her to go to the owner in ashes and sackcloth, explain and apologize profusely, accept responsibility for crappy friends, and ask if there's anything she can do to encourage him to drop the charges. In these cases, the "I apologize because you have to drop the charges or my life will be ruined and I feel really badly for how this affects me" argument DOES NOT work, it has to be "I did wrong, and I know it and I regret it and I'm very sorry for how this affected you."

I agree, don't let her get a conviction without a fight, and spend what you got defending her, it's worth it. I don't know what a diversion is, but if that keeps her record clean, it might be worth it.

 

[Sisco]

Thanks for the repies. I'm going to leave it up to her to decide what to do but strongly suggest consulting an attorney.

JimP, You're half right. It was her car and she made a bad judgment call. The BS'ing part is where you're wrong. I believe she is telling the truth about what happend. The officer that issued the ticket believes her too.
Didn't take her long at all to figure out who her real friends are, I believe a phone call to a parent or two are in order also.
Note to above, one of the girls invovled gave her an envelope with $100 in it to help cover expenses. She obviously has remorse but is scared to death of her parents. Our kids aren't afraid of us, they know they can tell us the truth.

 

[Ebbtide]

"Won't rat them out", why on earth would anyone take a fall for someone else is beyond me. I'd give back that hundred bucks and let them know that it was insulting and they will need it for their lawyer.

Leaving the decision up to her is fine, but don't lose sight that she's your kid whether she is three or thirty (as if I had to say that). So, just make SURE she makes the right one. Do what YOU think is right and I hope it all works out.

kids

 

[Kobun]

Her friends are obviously NOT her friends.
Give back the $100, and tell the police who the others are.

Loosing two or three "friends" when you are 18 doesn't matter.
She will probably have changed friends in a coupple of years anyways.

Who in their right mind would take the fall because of a $10 used dirty rug???? Especially when you consider the difficulty of getting jobs, getting credit, being able to own guns (?) and having a record for life.

She will probably be unable to get a visa in several countries if she ever decides she wants to travel the world.