Shoplifting, Larceny, Robbery, Theft Court dates and petty theft help please

[pink99rose]

Does anyone know how long before I know if charges are to be filed. I was in Walmart and they accused me of shoplifting a dvd, which happened to be mine, along with a few others, but they threatened to send my daughter to DCF and get me deported if I didn't sign a confession. My husband got the others back because we have proof they were ours, but they still want to prosecute because of the one on the forced confession. I can't get any information about the case and it's driving me mad. I also need to find a lawyer to handle the case and one that will help file for wrongful detention as they were so heavy handed that my 2 year old daughter was crying saying I'm sorry for over 30 minutes.

Any help would be gratefully received. I'm in Orlando.

 

[Aukterus]

Hope this helps...

Well let me make this clear first, I'm not a law student, but I have been taking government the past two semesters.

It sounds like the police/store did something really wrong by forcing you to sign a confession. If you review the supreme court case of Escobedo vs. Illinois, you'll see that you have a right to attorney at the time of being detained anywhere. Escobedo was tricked into signing a confession and it was deemed unconstitutional. You do need to get a lawye, and bring up this fact to him as he will know the best way to bring it up in court. Also, if you did not steal anything you need to fight these charges, unless the store has video footage of you taking said dvd, you won't have a problem winning in court, especially since 90% of the dvd's you had with you were yours, how did it happen that just one was not? Mention that too.

The biggest deal here is that you were tricked into signing a confession where there may have been no video evidence or probable cause other than the store being overbearing their loss protection department. If besides that confession that you were conned into signing there is no evidence, tell the judge. Tell them you were threatened by the store/police, and tell the judge there were witnesses to it, especially if the police saw it.

G