Shoplifting Lawyer Westland

Hire a Top Rated Lawyer for your Westland Retail Fraud Defense

If you need to go to the 18th District Court for your Westland misdemeanor or felony shoplifting ticket or arrest, you need an exceptional and aggressive criminal defense attorney who will fight on your behalf.   No matter if your accusation is from  a national retail store (such as Kroger, Kohls, or Target), or a locally based small Westland business we can help defend you. Get aggressive criminal defense lawyer Daniel Hilf to handle your shoplifting ticket or arrest for immediate action and zealous steps taken toward achieving the best results given the facts and circumstances of your case. Leading criminal defense specialist Daniel Hilf appears before the Judges at the 18th District Court (36675 Ford Road, Westland 48185), and throughout the metropolitan Detroit area on a regular basis, defending clients for all shoplifting and theft related charges.  

Having to address a shoplifting accusation at Court may seem overwhelming, frightening, and depressing.   It is important to remember that this type of a charge does not in any way make you a bad person.  In fact, shoplifting is prosecuted by the Westland City Attorney and the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office on a daily basis , but it is often due to a temporary lapse in otherwise good judgment.  However, just because these charges are regularly prosecuted at the 18th District Court it does not mean that there are not serious long term repercussions or that it will not affect your future in an extremely negative way.  Any shoplifting conviction can permanently alter the course of your future, because a sentence from this conviction may include any or all of the following outcomes: the loss of your freedom (being placed in custody); probation with strict supervisory conditions; loss of employment; professional licensing issues (for lawyers, accountants, stock brokers, nurses and other positions that require either 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.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt - you need the best lawyer that you can hire for your Westland case, who is one hundred percent on your side and always working to obtain your best result.  It may even be possible to keep a shoplifting conviction from appearing on your record, if you receive a diversionary sentence from the Court.

Shoplifting can theoretically be committed in several distinct manners, including: when store merchandise is stolen or an attempt to steal store merchandise is made by a person; when the price tag of the merchandise is intentionally changed to a lower price to defraud the store; or when merchandise is fraudulently exchanged in order to obtain money or other store merchandise.  Criminal shoplifting cases that are prosecuted at the 18th District Court in Westland and other Wayne County courtrooms include the following:

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 [however, incarceration can be avoided at the Judge's discretion because there is no mandatory minimum sentence that is required].  

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 [however, incarceration can be avoided at the Judge's discretion because there is no mandatory minimum sentence that is required].  The allegation is prosecuted in Westland and other courtrooms in Michigan when the prosecution believes it has probable cause that the intent of the accused is to commit retail theft from one or more stores and then resell the stolen merchandise to other persons or businesses.

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 [however, incarceration can be avoided at the Judge's discretion because there is no mandatory minimum sentence that is required].  

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) [however, incarceration can be avoided at the Judge's discretion because there is no mandatory minimum sentence that is required].

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 [however, incarceration can be avoided at the Judge's discretion because there is no mandatory minimum sentence that is required].

Searching for a Top Rated Lawyer near Westland to Zealously Defend a Shoplifting Arrest or Ticket?

A large number of stores in Westland maintain loss prevention practices with the goal of reducing overall retail fraud losses, avoiding contested litigation, and deterring others from committing in store theft.  A team of loss protection workers with hi-tech surveillance equipment (such as merchandise sensors, high resolution cameras, and closed circuit television) are commonly found within retail stores for the purpose of combating the liabilities and costs associated with shoplifting.  Even with hi-tech surveillance and manpower, mistakes are still made and persons are still sometimes falsely arrested due to errors (such as false identification and wrongfully interpreting a situation), cultural related issues, and procedural errors.

If you hire attorney Daniel Hilf to defend your Westland shoplifting accusation he will obtain discovery materials to fully and properly defend you, 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 Hilf will provide you with straight forward advice and his honest opinion concerning whether to conduct a trial in front of a Judge or jury, or whether to choose to accept a plea or plea bargain and try and persuade the Judge to sentence you reasonably and leniently. However, it is ultimately your choice to have a trial or to seek a resolution of your case through a plea, plea bargain, and/or sentence agreement (provided that a plea bargain and/or sentence agreement is available), and attorney Hilf will fight for your best outcome for your Westland case. 

Do not delay hiring an experienced legal representative to help you with your shoplifting related Court matter.  As stated earlier, a shoplifting conviction will likely cause you severe difficulties (in addition to the strict criminal penalties available to your Judge), including making it extremely challenging to find a well paying job or a highly desired career, because many companies do not want to risk hiring someone convicted of any type of theft.  Hire a respected defense lawyer for your Westland based allegation  - attorney Daniel Hilf - to help you, because his strong legal acumen and his over twenty years of solid experience inside and outside of Michigan courtrooms is exactly the type of legal representation that you need to confront a shoplifting charge.

If you must appear before a Judge or magistrate due to a Westland shoplifting case, now is the right time to make an impactful and solid decision concerning your legal representation. Contact Hilf & Hilf, PLC to obtain the high quality legal defense that you need to assert your best defense.