Shoplifting Lawyer Waterford

Searching for a Lawyer for a Shoplifting Accusation in Waterford?

If you need to appear in Court in Waterford Michigan or anywhere in Oakland County because you have been accused of shoplifting, you need an experienced criminal defense lawyer who will fight for you. No matter if your accusation is from a retail franchise or a local Waterford business we can help you with your case. Get attorney Daniel Hilf on your side for immediate action and zealous steps taken toward obtaining positive results, because he appears before the Judges at the 51st District Court, the 6th Circuit Court, and throughout Oakland County on a regular basis aggressively defending all shoplifting charges.

Having to go before a Judge is stressful, but it is important to remember that facing a shoplifting charge does not make you a bad person. In fact, shoplifting is prosecuted daily by the Waterford City Attorney and the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, but it is often based only upon one single incident which is due to a temporary lapse in judgment. However, just because shoplifting accusations are heard at the 51st District Court and elsewhere in Oakland County on a regular basis, it does not mean that there are not serious consequences or that it will not affect your life in a bad way. Any criminal conviction for shoplifting can have a long lasting impact, because a shoplifting sentence may include any or all of the following outcomes: the loss of your freedom (incarceration); probation with strictly monitored conditions; loss of employment; professional licensing issues (for doctors, lawyers, accountants, nurses, stock brokers, and other positions that require State or Federal licensing); loss of educational opportunities; steep fines and costs; immigration complications (for persons that are not United States citizens); and personal embarrassment/damage to reputation. If you are facing any shoplifting allegation in Waterford, you need a respected defense from a highly rated attorney who is totally on your side.

A shoplifting charge is rooted in a variety of different behaviors related to stealing, such as: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made; the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally changed to a lower price to defraud the store; or merchandise is fraudulently exchanged in order to obtain money or other store merchandise. Felony and misdemeanor shoplifting offenses that are commonly prosecuted at the 51st District Court in Waterford at the 6th Circuit Court in Pontiac include:

First Degree Retail Fraud is a felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is $1,000 (one thousand dollars) or more, or if the merchandise involved is $200 (two hundred dollars) or more and the person has a prior theft conviction [the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration].

Organized Retail Theft is felony charge that carries up to a 5 year maximum prison sentence that is also subject to applicable habitual offender sentencing provisions [the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration]. The offense occurs when the intent of the Defendant is to shoplift from one or more stores and then resell the stolen merchandise to others, making a business out of retail theft.

Second Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence that is prosecuted when the merchandise involved is at least $200 (two hundred dollars) but less than $1000 (one thousand dollars), or if the merchandise involved is under $200 (two hundred dollars) and the person has a prior theft conviction [the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration].

Third Degree Retail Fraud is a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a 93 day maximum county jail sentence that is prosecuted under either State law or local ordinance, when the merchandise involved in the offense is less than $200 (two hundred dollars) [the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration].

Removal of a Theft Detection Device is a misdemeanor charges that carries up to a 1 year maximum county jail sentence that is prosecuted under State law [the Judge, however, can choose to impose a probationary sentence without incarceration].

Hire an Experienced Lawyer for your Waterford Michigan Case Who Specializes in Defending Shoplifting Charges

Many businesses in Waterford have developed comprehensive loss prevention policies with the goals of reducing the amount of retail fraud losses and insurance costs, avoiding contested litigation, and deterring others from store stealing. Frequently, a team of asset prevention personnel with high-tech shoplifting prevention equipment (such as merchandise sensors and closed circuit television) work within a store to combat the costs and liabilities associated with shoplifting. Even with modern surveillance technology and theft prevention training, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors in judgment, cultural issues, and procedural errors.

If you engage the legal services of attorney Daniel Hilf for your shoplifting case, he will obtain all the available discovery materials to properly defend your case, which can include the following: police report(s), loss prevention report(s), witness statement(s), in store video(s), police video(s), photograph(s), statement(s) the police and/or loss prevention claims that you made. Attorney Daniel Hilf will provide you with sound legal advice concerning whether to conduct a trial in front of a Judge or jury and fight the accusation, or whether to choose to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to be lenient and merciful with you. It is ultimately your choice to decide to ask for a plea bargain (an agreement with the prosecution to dismiss or reduce the charge(s) against you) or seek a favorable sentence agreement (an agreement with the Judge and/or prosecutor to impose a specific sentence, such as avoiding or limiting any term of confinement) or to contest the matter at trial.

A big decision for you to make is to decide upon shoplifting defense representation to help you obtain the best possible result for your particular circumstances. As previously stated, a shoplifting conviction will likely cause you a whole host of everyday problems in addition to the stiff criminal penalties, including making it extremely hard to find a good job or a great career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of theft. Hire a leading and respected criminal defense attorney for your Waterford case – attorney Daniel Hilf – to help you, because is widely regarded throughout Oakland County, due to his over twenty years of experience inside and outside of Michigan courtrooms, helping individuals like yourself to fight for favorable results.

If you have to appear at the 51st District Court in Waterford or elsewhere, now is the time to make an impactful and smart decision concerning your court representation by contacting Hilf & Hilf, PLC.