The penalties for shoplifting and theft can be serious. At our firm of criminal defense, employment, and divorce attorneys in Bergen County strive to get the charges reduced to Borough Ordinance violations, or to have them dismissed completely. If a conviction can not be avoided, we request community service, probation, or treatment in lieu of jail time
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In this series, our criminal defense, employment, and family lawyers in Bergen County discuss shoplifting charges, and probable cause. If you think that you were arrested for shoplifting without probable cause, you should speak with an attorney. (Even if you don’t think so, shoplifting charges can be serious, and something you should discuss with an attorney. Whether or not probable cause exists can be somewhat complicated and will require good representation. See this case regarding shoplifting and probable cause from last year. The supreme court ultimately ruled in favor of the plaintiff, who had been wrongfully charged with shoplifting at a Walmart store in New Jersey, and initially lost the lawsuit he brought against the store. The court first ruled that the store did have probable cause, but that ruling was reversed at the supreme court level. If you are facing shoplifting charges, contact Aretsky and Aretsky, with over 15 years experience in shoplifting cases.
Our Bergen County lawyers are known for working in divorce, employment, and criminal defense cases. In our previous post we introduced probable cause and its importance in shoplifting cases. If you’ve been charged with shoplifting, its important that you speak with an attorney right away about your rights. There are a number of steps that a merchant must go through to show that they had probable cause to bring shoplifting charges against someone. 1. They must have observed the person select the item from the store. This is how they can establish for sure that the item came from their store. 2. They must have observed the person conceal the item. This might include putting something in your purse or pocket, or removing the tags from something and then attempting to leave with it in plain sight.3. The person must have attempted to leave the premises without paying for the merchandise while still under surveillance.
We are attorneys based in Bergen County, NJ representing clients in divorce, criminal, and employment cases. Shoplifting is one of the most common crimes people are charged with.Before someone can be detained, and shoplifting charges can be brought against them, a merchant has to show there is probable cause to detain or charge the individual. There are steps that a merchant’s personnel need to follow to show probable cause. If they do not follow these steps, they maybe subject to a false arrest tort claim. We will describe these steps in detail in our next blog post. If you believe you were wrongfully detained or charged for shoplifting, you should speak with an attorney as soon as possible.
At our firm Aretsky & Aretsky, we have more than fifteen years of experience defending people charged with shoplifting and other crimes in New Jersey municipal courts. Contact us to learn more about how we can minimize the damage to your reputation and your record.
In addition to providing services as family lawyers in Bergen County, every year our firm represents people charged with crimes such as shoplifting. When our clients are charged with shoplifting, they are often feeling embarrassed, and ashamed of how this may reflect on them. They are concerned that the charges will negatively affect their reputation in the community and their employment opportunities. We handle our clients’ cases discreetly and professionally. If you require an especially high degree of privacy with regard to your case, let us know. We will treat your case with sensitivity and consideration. If need be, we can accommodate your needs by not calling you at your home or your place of employment.If you are facing potential shoplifting charges, you should speak with an attorney as soon as possible. The sooner you talk with a lawyer knowledgeable about criminal defense, the more opportunity you will have to respond to charges appropriately and protect yourself from conviction, financial penalties, and possibly jail time.
If you are a father who is missing out on your parental rights because of your ex’s actions, you may benefit from talking with a family lawyer in Bergen County.
Separation and divorce is hard on kids, and can put strain on the parent-child relationship. In the worst cases, one parent may use their child to hurt, control, or retaliate against the other parent. Commonly, this looks like creating unfair barriers and limitations on visitation- through attempting to relocate arbitrarily, not cooperating with the visitation plan, or creating other hassles and roadblocks.
Parents should work to maintain positive relationships between their children and the other parent. Children miss their non-custodial parent (usually the father), and need to keep their bond with them throughout family transitions.
As divorce attorney Bergen County we often represent people in creating prenuptial agreements. Did you know that if you don’t each have your own lawyer when drawing up your prenuptial agreement, it will be unenforceable? In creating a prenuptial agreement, both parties must have independent counsel. Many couples are under the impression that they can have only one attorney represent the both of them. Of course engaged couples would like to save legal costs, and hiring attorneys adds up. The courts require, however that each person have his or her own legal counsel. When you retain an attorney, they will only be able to represent one of you, and are required to advise the other party to get their own lawyer. By having proper representation and following the recommendations of your attorneys, you can make sure that your prenuptial agreement fairly represents both party’s interests, and that it is one that will be upheld in court should you ever get divorced.
Are you planning to sit down with a family lawyer Bergen County before your marriage to create a prenuptial agreement? Children, whether born before or during the marriage, cannot be part of a prenuptial agreement. Issues relating to custody, visitation, and child support have to be settled at the time of a separation or divorce, not before. The reason for this is that the court uses the child’s best interests, not agreements of the parents, to set custody and child support. Because many circumstances regarding a child’s interests will change during a marriage and in the case of a divorce, none of these matters are allowed to be settled in a prenuptial agreement.
However, some parenting issues may be made easier if your financial agreements have been settled ahead of time in a prenup. Not having to settle these things through a court process if you get divorced may free you to focus on your parenting issues, reducing the stresses on you at that time. The court will look at a number of issues in determining the best interest of the child including financial, emotional, educational, geographical, and other factors.
A family lawyer Bergen County can help make sure your interests are protected in your prenup, and that the agreement you make is one that will be enforceable in court. An oral contract is not sufficient. The agreement has to be in writing to be enforceable. Its important that both parties fully disclose their circumstances in the prenup and in the attached statement of assets. If someone is not honest or forthcoming in this process, the contract may be unenforceable.
In determining whether or not to honor a prenuptial agreement, the court will consider whether the process for coming to it was fair. If either party unfairly manipulated the process, the contract may not be honored. For this reason its wise to consult an attorney in creating the prenuptial agreement. Ultimately, the contract is yours and the two of you must agree to it together and have it notarized for it to be valid.
Many couples choose to consult a family lawyer Bergen County to create a prenuptial agreement before getting married. A prenuptial agreement, sometimes called a premarital agreement, antenuptial agreement, or “prenup” is a contract used by a couple to determine what each party’s rights and obligations will be if they ever get divorced (or sometimes if one party dies). A prenup may also used to protect property during the marriage, or protect one party from their spouse’s debts.
The written agreement can be drawn up with an attorney to include things like spousal support or the division of assets, should you get divorced. It may identify certain conditions that would be different should the marriage ever end because of adultery.
If you are engaged, having a good prenuptial agreement can provide security for you, knowing that you will not have to go through the financial and emotional strain of settling these things in court if you ever get divorced. The contract goes into effect once you are married.
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