jail time????

Question

my sister was caught 4 shoplifting(10 counts) in december last year and has only recently been summoneds to appear in court.

she became pregnant in january nd gave birth in september and is back to her best.

motherhood has changed her 4 the better

she stole during a period where she went off her medication(suffers from severe depression) and is going to plead guilty as she knows what she did was wrong..

was just wondering on the thoughts of people from australia who have some background in law,or students etc...

if u dont have a background in these type of cases then plz dont reply as ur opinion will mean very little and if its nasty u will be reported..

thank you

Answer 1

The answer would depend on the jurisdiction of the charges, whether they were felonies, misdemeanors, or municipal ordinance charges, and her prior record.

Assuming that they are misdemeanor or municipal charges and are her first offense, she will probably get some form of probation with little or no time in jail (unless she later violates her probation).

If they are felonies and she has a significant number of priors, then claims of sudden reform are likely to fall on deaf ears and she will have a substantial prison sentence, especially if her charges are in a rural county.

Answer 2

1.) If this is not her first offense depending on the province she may get jail time.

2.) Under the Law reform and model criminal code if this is in fact her first time there will be restitution involved and community services.

3.) The majestrate may based on the counts given by you will not take into cosideration her "change for the better". Australia is well known for the cliche "Are you fair dinkum?"
or as others may put it "Don't come the raw prawn with me"

4.) You may want to call to witness an expert who has full knowledge of her condition and not just her physician but a mental health specialist who also has been involved with her condition.

5.) You may wish to have her re-consider your position of a plea as you have stated her "condition" and being "off-meds" in some instances may be a benefactor to the case matter. suggestively there are certain psychotropic meds that do in fact cause certain compulsivities as a form of withdrawl if you will and suggestively this may be to her benefit.

I wish the best to you and your sister in this matter and hope that this helps.