Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Get a local private lawyer. A good lawyer knows the law. A great lawyer knows the judge.

No one knows judges better than a public defender. They are practicing in the same court, year after year. While private attorneys will cover one case here , one case there and run between Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, Hampton and Newport News courts.

OP, I would talk to the PD first before splurging money for a private lawyer. If you decide to spend money on a private lawyer, do your research. Just because he is private, it does not automatically mean that he is good or knows what he is doing. The best criminal defense attorneys are coming either from the Commonwealth attorneys office or public defender office.

The counterpoint to that and I agree that the PD office provides great training and is full of good lawyers is (stop me if you’ve heard this before) time and resources.

You are correct. But grand larceny can be very straight forward case that does not require a lot of time or resources. Believe me, a private attorney will spend as much time on it if it is very straightforward case, but will take more money from parent, and sometimes get worth result.

Anonymous wrote:You can bet your life that this is not her first time shop lifting. I

I was thinking the same thing. It takes legit balls to take off with jewelry from a jewelry store. They tend to have pretty good theft detection there, and let's face it, it's definitely got more of a "this is a real crime" vibe to it versus stealing a lipstick from a pharmacy. (Said by someone who's never stolen anything, but I know which of those I'd choose if I had to do one of them!)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A public defender goes by income. How did she get one if you can afford to pay? This makes no sense.

Agree, legal aid is very difficult to qualify for

I'm pretty sure the legal aid that is hard to qualify for is when you don't have a right to a lawyer, like trying to sue your landlord

If you are accused of a felony, you can get a public defender

It still goes by income. If you can afford an attorney you don't get one.

There can often be different rules for minors.

You can bet your life that this is not her first time shop lifting. I

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A public defender goes by income. How did she get one if you can afford to pay? This makes no sense.

Agree, legal aid is very difficult to qualify for

I'm pretty sure the legal aid that is hard to qualify for is when you don't have a right to a lawyer, like trying to sue your landlord

If you are accused of a felony, you can get a public defender

It still goes by income. If you can afford an attorney you don't get one.

Anonymous wrote:https://www.brownfirmpllc.com/criminal-defense/theft/virginia-shoplifting-laws/

Get a lawyer quickly and see if you can offer restitution.

Yeah, you do not want to get a judge who wants to make an example, or this stuff being on her record with every college and job application. I had a co-worker who was in federal court for shoplifting at a military base. Once prosecution dug in her record of a prior arrest "bad act" this elaborate plan of bringing character witnesses did not work since then that would allow the prosecution to bring up the past shoplifting incident. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it is not the best. In my youth, I only got caught once when I was 12 (a personal bottle of juice because someone dared me). I balled my eyes out and the manager let me go on a warning. Scared straight.

I am a lawyer, but do Administrative Law. So definitely not legal advice. And my area of expertise. But...

If you have a good kid, involved in the school, headed to college, first mistake, etc., maybe you could get a deferred prosecution? They continue the case for a year. If your kid does community service and stays out of trouble, after a year the charges are dismissed? That way there is no record?

Someone who knows more about criminal law in VA might be able to say if that is possible.

Charged as a juvenile, if her record is sealed, it is almost impossible to get unsealed in the future. My husband is a recently retired law enforcement officer in VA. He said try to plea bargain down to a misdemeanor, offer reimbursement, and ask for community service.

Anonymous wrote:Why was a 16 year old in VA beach without you?? Terrible parenting.

Why are you on here casting your judgmental opinion on OP? Things happen and there but for the grace of God go we all. It could happen to any of our children. We can't guarantee they will exercise good judgment 100% of the time. I know I did some dumb shit when I was a teen, although I never committed theft. But, if I had been with some friends in a department store and they stole something and encouraged or dared me to do it, I don't know if I would have walked away from the peer pressure. I am not saying this was the situation with OPs daughter but the point is we don't always know how our kids will behave when out of our presence. So, I would not dare judge another parent. PP, you are a sanctimonious asshat.

Anonymous wrote:Why was a 16 year old in VA beach without you?? Terrible parenting.

Thanks for your support. She was visiting family friends.

^^^ Now isn't really the time to get judgmental.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^Nor necessarily correct if juvenile. Consult a real lawyer who doesn't go by the handle "Anonymous"

she is currently in detention. I wanted her to learn her lesson, and the place is actually not that bad. There is only a handful of girls in there.
She is a minor.

They can charge a minor as an adult for a felony. It’s important to know how she’s being charged.