It's my first criminal record.. and am wondering if it's going to affect my school, career, etc? Very depressed... and is there any way of erasing the record in some time?

I forgot to mention I live in Ontario, CANADA.

Were you accepted into the diversion program? Are you asking in advance or have you already been sentenced?

My court date is next month but I know I will be charged since I'm guility of what I did to make money. I'm really depressed now. My parents don't know about this and I don't want them to know.

How much would it be to get a lawyer for my first court case next month. This involves fraud under 5000... what would the cost range from?

I live in Ontario, Canada...

(was going to edit my previous post but unable to do)

You'd have to ask your prospective lawyer to find out. Typically, you're looking at a retainer fee, which could range anywhere from $500 to $5000. This is essentially an advance payment, which your lawyer will draw from as (s)he works on your case and send you periodic statements. When that runs out, your lawyer will continue to bill you on an hourly basis, typically $250 per hour.

$250 an hour?? Are you kidding?

I don't I can afford to pay more than $500 overall for a lawyer. What are my options?

$250 an hour???? are you kidding?Nope. I wish I were, but I'm not.

i don't i can afford to pay more than $500 overall for a lawyer. What are my options?I don't know about Ontario, but here in the states, if you can demonstrate need, you can receive a court-appointed attorney for free or reduced charge. But that would generally only be done if the potential consequences to you were sufficiently serious, e.g. incarceration. You say that you're charged with "fraud under $5000" so I don't know what type of potential penalty you face for such a charge. That said, you may or may not qualify for a court-appointed attorney.

Contact legal aid in Ontario - as far as the hourly rate I am not aware of any Attorney in my area who will work for less than $1,500 minimum.

Say you get hit by a car?? Any way whatsoever? Or is it just suicide?

Please tell me.

Tell you what? If you die, then yes you don't go to jail. If you are simply injured you go to the prison infirmary.

But if you have been sentenced to jail then to jail you go.

By the way this is not a chat room. Answers are not instantaneous. You have to wait for someone to read your post and decide to answer.

Hello l:

If you commit suicide while awaiting a jail sentence, they'll make your corps do the time before they bury it.

excon

You could quickly build a time machine, go back in time and NOT break the law.

Otherwise, unless you are dead or have your sentence commuted, you are going to jail.

Incidentally, if you intentionally get hit by a car, you could be charged for another crime (some form of endangerment, depending on the law of your state)

Could I be sentenced to jail while studying in post-secondary school? I'm a first time offender... 20 years old... for fraud under 5000 :confused:

Of course you could be sentenced to jail, but it depends on what the charges are. You haven't given enough info.

Any time you commit a crime you risk jail time.

Anybody can be sentenced. Being a student in any school does not make you exempt.
What the sentence is for is what makes or breaks if you do jail time.
Unless you are a celebrity or a politician.

Fraud?

Possibly.

I guess you should have thought about school before committing fraud.

Just a thought.

I am not aware of any special treatment being given to folks who attend college, high school, internet college, working on their doctorate. You won't get any specialized "sentence" just because you are in school. Doesn't work that way.

I got caught for doing fraud... I am too scared to go to jail and tell my parent about what I did... I really have no choice... I am thinking about it for awhile... but I really don't want to do it... I know I shouldn't ask this online... what are my options?

I am 19 going to college soon.

what are my options?Hello love:

Don't do it. If you were facing LIFE without parole, I could understand... But, for a piddly little thing by a first offender?? Nahhh. IF you're found guilty, you'll probably get probation... That is, unless you ripped off several million, and I don't think that's the case.

You're going to need a lawyer. They SHOULD give you one when you appear in court if your can't afford to pay for one yourself. Don't say anything to anybody about it except your lawyer.

It's cool, Dude. These things end, and life goes on...

excon

Absolutely do not learn from your mistakes but do not take your life over it. Nothing is unfixable. I am sure you have many people that love you including your parents, so trust that and confide in them. They are there to support you. Take this and use it to turn your life around. We all are in a bad place when it comes to $$ so I understand but this is not worth ending your life. We all make mistakes, we are human. Confide in your family and friends. Think how hurt they would be if you did that. Every passing moment is another chance to turn it all around.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

If you did the crime you need to remember you can/will get caught and must face the punishment. You didn't say how much "fraud" you committed, but if you're 19 it shouldn't be that much.

You'll have to face the music with the Courts and will probably get probation depending on how much you "frauded".

In your other post you said you were 20, not 19.

That you lived in Ontario, Canada and that you "frauded" under 5,000 dollars.

In Canada you should be able to get some sort of first offender program.

Why are you stressing out since the beginning of August about this? You seem to be in the same state of mind as you were when you first started posting here.

At age 18 you became an adult. Now you'll have to start living and acting like an adult. Your childhood is over after age 18.

Death is not the answer; facing the problem and learning from your mistake is the option to choose. Been there, done that. I know what it is like to mess up and being too ashamed to let you family know about it. If this is your first offense, chances are you'll get probation. I did. 5 years and paying restitution. It's really not the end of the road; just make smarter choices in the future and trust in the Lord to guide you through this trialing period. And make sure you get a heck of an attorney. Best of luck to you.

Aww, honey I wish I could help you. Do not hurt yourself, everything has an end to it. I am 26, and have been through a lot, so much so I've been to hell and back numerous times. But now I'm strong and put all mistakes in the past and forget about them.

Deal with the problem to give yourself peace of mind that you have taken some control back. You should be honest with your family, do you have any brothers or sisters? They will not be pleased but they will want to help you and take away some of the burden. You should tell your doctor that you are feeling suicidal. If that doesn't help see a different one.

You are still very young and you are allowed to make some mistakes, everyone has a past. One day it will be in the past and you will be happier than you have ever been and you will be thankful to yourself for not committing suicide. You can have a new life with your own family and do whatever you want.

You are very young, this is not the end of the world, it might be hard but if you do things right you will come out the other end stronger, wiser and very happy. Xxx

If I tell my lawyer that I might be in a suicidal situation (cant go to jail-i want him to understand my situation) because of my case- does he have the right (legally) to tell police or anyone about it if I insist not to? (I'm 19 first time offender facing against fraud under 5000)

-toronto, canada

No, he's your Attorney. He's bound by confidentiality.

I don't know what you think telling him will accomplish if you don't want him to tell anyone else. He's going to do his best for you with or without this info.

Hello again, love:

There are LIMITS to attorney/client privilege. For example if you were to tell him that you were about to commit a crime, he'd be obligated to inform the authorities...

I don't know if attempted suicide is a crime where you are. I think it is here. Therefore, if you told him that you were going to knock yourself off if you go to jail, I'll bet he'll tell the jail people.

excon

All of these threads should be combined. Concerning theft under $5,000 in Ontario, here is something I wrote:

“Ontario diversion program guidelines vary from region to region, courthouse to Courthouse. Eligibility for such a program is ALWAYS determined by the Crown Attorney's office. There are no exceptions. You are not required to have legal counsel in order to apply.

If the offense - theft - is not major (property was recovered, not a large amount, not a repeat offender) the Crown Attorney MAY approve eligibility into the diversion program prior to the Court appearance. If there are prior dealings with the Police - and charges do not have to be placed, any prior dealings of a negative nature - the person will most likely not be eligible for the diversion program.

As part of the diversion program the eligible person will have to agree to complete certain tasks or obligations - perhaps watch a video, make a donation or volunteer time to a not-for-profit, write a paper on the crime.

When the tasks/obligations have been competed to the satisfaction of the Crown's Attorney he/she will recommend to the Judge that the criminal charge (usually, theft) be withdrawn.

Each courthouse in Ontario has a different diversion program and eligibility requirements differ from region to region. Eligibility for the diversion program is always determined by the Crown Attorney's office. If they deem a theft offence to be of a minor nature (usually a small quantity of merchandise was taken and the property was recovered), the Crown may pre-approve eligibility into the diversion program. A person will not generally be eligible for diversion if they have had prior dealings with the police (even if it did not result in a criminal charge being laid). Once in the diversion program, the eligible candidate may be asked to complete one of a number of different tasks. In some jurisdictions, a person charged with theft may be required to watch a video on shoplifting. In other jurisdictions they may be required to make a donation to charity or complete a minimum number of community service hours - or both. Regardless of the requirements, the result is usually the same. Once the diversion program has been completed to the satisfaction of the Crown Attorney, the Crown will recommend to the court that the criminal charge of theft be withdrawn against the accused person. This will result in the accused person maintaining a clean record (assuming they didn't have a prior criminal record).

If a person is not pre-screened as eligible for the diversion program, a lawyer may be able to convince a Crown Attorney to reconsider their decision.”

Also - I worked in a criminal law practice. I never once saw an Attorney report a suicide threat (or thoughts of suicide) to the authorities. It may happen in other offices, other States. I DID see Attorneys recommend mental health treatment for their clients, which treatments were then mentioned in Court as part of the explanation of why the theft occurred, how the Defendant was attempting to regain control of his/her life.

>Multiple Threads Merged<
All relate to same issue.

I'm afraid that if there is high chance of jail time for this first time offence I might suicide or worse (suicide being the last thing I would do).

I'm afraid that if there is high chance of jail time for this first time offence I might suicide or worse (suicide being the last thing I would do).

Might be doing society a favor. And what is worse than suicide?

Can we be a little more melodramatic? If you threaten suicide, you go into a psych hold... and then to jail. Be a man and own up to what you did.

Might be doing society a favor. And what is worse than suicide
I'd like to have some fun before suicide. Like pay back to society.

I'd like to have some fun before suicide. Like pay back to society.

And again, I ask... could you try to be a bit more melodramatic?

This "pay back to society" info must be turned over to the Ontario PP - let them get the IP info and see where this goes.

I do not want to be part of a thread where someone is threatening to "pay back suicide," a crime "worse than suicide."

Time to close and inform the authorities. Probably high melodrama but unquestioning some mental issues - and I don't take threats lightly.

>Thread Closed<
AMHD will NOT condone actions of this type.