Yesterday I was charged with misdemeanor larceny for shoplifting cologne valued around $50. What should I expect at court, as in the process and the charges. Also, is this something that is worth getting an attorney for? I am a college student so I am trying to find a way to walk away from this with paying as little as possible.

Can someone please answer this for me? It is really stressing me out. Am I eligible for a public defender if I am in college, have no job, on financial aid, and I have to pay for everything myself since I am eighteen and my parents won't be helping me. Are my parents financial status going to affect whether I can get a public defender?

Getting a public defender should be based on your financial status, not your parents. You'll be able to find out if you're eligible once you go to court, but it sounds like you will be.

I've gone to court for a similar offense, mine was a theft 3rd degree, the title probably differs by state but I'd think the punishment will be similar. Here was what I got:
-Fine (probably a couple hundred for your type of offense, mine was fucking $400, they set you up with a monthly payment plan)
-Shoplifting class (mine cost $75, was a one day deal, took a couple hours. Kinda sucked but not as bad as you'd expect)
-Deferred sentence (After 1 year if the conditions are completed it'll go off my record...I've completed all my stuff so I'm gonna look into getting it off now)

They pretty much fuck you over as much as they can on the fines, it's bullshit but not much you can do. However, if you get a civil fine I'd recommend not paying that, usually that's just a collection agency trying to scare money out of you.

what is this civil fine and how would I have known that there will be no consequences for not paying it?
There is also the civil demand that the store is going to charge me. This is separate from the citation/court stuff and I think it comes from the sears' attorney. Ive been doing research and apparently this can be up to $500 and have to be payed otherwise it will be baddd.

Civil demand, that's what I meant. Where have you done your research? One thing to remember is that no one online can give you a definite answer, and most will have a bias...for example, on a lot of law help forums they'll tell you to pay it just cuz they think "well you're a shoplifter you should be punished."

If you do get a civil demand, the first thing I'd do is google the agency that sent it to you. Then you can get an idea of if they're a legit law firm they claim to be, or if they're a collection agency, which most are. They'll tell you this is an "urgent legal matter," and that if you don't pay, it's going to double, triple, etc. Typically these are just scare tactics to get you to pay them without question. I've never read of someone actually getting taken to civil court for not paying the demand. I had an agency call me once about a civil demand after I caught my case, I told them they had the wrong number...haven't heard from them since, and its been over 6 months.

If you're really nervous about the civil demand, ask a lawyer about it and get their opinion.

Wow all that for $50 I hope you went down with a fight.

**Sorry not a helpful post I was just never aware of such harsh penalties

Yes all of this over $50. And it was my first time every really stealing anything that wasn't like gum or something. It was the day before christmas and I was so stressed with having no money, since I'm in college with no job and had to pay for my own tuition, books, etc. So I decided to try my luck and just get that for my dad, and I got caught. I definitely regret it but all of these fines over $50 is just ridiculous.

And yes I was doing research on the civil demand on a law forum. I think it was freeadvice or something. They were all pretty much telling everyone who asked that they HAVE to pay for the civil demand. I really dont know if I should or not now because I just really dont want anymore trouble.

Edit: So I've been doing more research on not paying this civil demand, more sites other than law help forums. And I can't really find much talking about not paying for it. Can someone help me in assuring this claim?

The chain's letters to suspected shoplifters are sent out by a Florida law firm called Palmer Reifler & Associates, which also handles the task for four dozen other clients, from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to Walgreen Co., keeping 13 percent to 30 percent of what it collects. A partner at the law firm has said that it sends out about 1.2 million civil-recovery demand letters a year but follows up by suing fewer than 10 times a year.

Excerpt from an article at http://www.poststar.com/articles/2008/02/24/business/local/13369026.prt
The article is mainly talking about people who got a civil demand after being falsely accused of theft, but it has some info that can help you too. As you can see 1 of the bigger collection agencies only ends up suing 10 people a year at most. I guarantee you those other 1.19 million people didn't all pay. Probably hundreds of thousands didn't pay.

Here's an example of a guy who didn't pay: http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58282

In the end it's your call, but I think you'd probably be safe not paying.

Alright Ive looked up about those agencies and it pretty much says that theyll just have one of those scam collection agencies mail you a couple letters then call you repeated. Some have gotten these weekly to almost daily calls for months, even years. They just keep calling until you decided to pay.
There are others who just get a few phone calls then its over. Until up to 5 years or so later, they get letters asking them for an outrageous amount of money.

So maybe you might not go to court but youll get harassing letters and phone calls to you house for years and years...

Damn I dont know which route Im going to take.. Any other people who actually had experience with these civil demands?