If you’ve recently been involved in some form of theft charges involving retail fraud like shoplifting, you’re going to have to hire a criminal lawyer to give you the best defense possible to protect your rights.
There are some forms of theft that have potential prison sentences. Many clients have been caught up in such crimes and have been saved from having to spend a long time in prison due to their defense strategy.
Here are three examples of defense strategies for a shoplifting charge:
- Alibi Defense for theft charges
- The claim of the right to the property
- A lack of intent or a mistakenly removed item from a store.
Alibi Defense
The charge of shoplifting is frequently defended via an alibi defense. Here, the prosecutor must first prove that the defendant was even in the shop when the crime occurred. It’s not up to the defendant to prove that they have an alibi, the prosecutor must prove that the person is guilty of the crime. If you’ve been charged for shoplifting, you need to know that they have to have evidence that proves you were in the store. If the jury has any reasonable doubt of where you were at the time of the crime, they can’t charge you.
Claim Of Right To Property
In order to be proven guilty for shoplifting, the person must have the intention to have stolen something. One effective strategy is that they can convince a Jury that the person took the property as a “claim of right”. In this case, the defendant took the property believing that it was really theirs. They had no intent to steal anything.
Lack Of Intent
When it comes to retail fraud, shoplifting, and other such charges, many shoppers accidentally leave the shop with merchandise that wasn’t paid for. A good example is an item that is left in a shopping cart by the clerk when the person is checking out. It may have been unnoticed by the shopper as well as the clerk. In such cases, the person had no intention to shoplift. If the lawyer can convince the jury, then they will be cleared of charges.
All in all, the best defense strategy is to find a good criminal lawyer that can prove that there wasn’t any intent or that it was a case of mistaken identity. Each case is different and a good attorney will know this and be able to prove it to the jury and to the prosecutor of the particular case at hand. There are always mitigating factors to consider in court.