I was charged for theft under 5000, I have not attended any court dates as of yet and do not know if I will be convicted, (lets hope not) I am a nursing student and am required to get a police clearance every year for my program. If I am convicted of this offence what do I do about my program? Am I completely screwed and can't continue on with nursing or is there some way I can get a pardon reallly really fast because I know after 3 years of being free of any charges you can apply for a pardon which takes another 2 years but that doesn't help me very much right now. PLEASE HELP! I'm freaking out about this and can't find answers anywhere!

Hello cosmos:

Relax. Just worry about beating this conviction. If you do, you don't need to fret about the other stuff.

If it were me, I'd get a lawyer - a damn good lawyer.

excon

I've tried to get the store to drop the charges but once it goes to the police then it's out of their hands and they can't do anything about it. I know getting a lawyer would help in a million ways but I don't have the means to pay for one. I am going to look into getting legal aid from the university that I attend and if that works I'll be a lot more relieved but I'm just humiliated and wish I could go back in time and re-do it but I know that's not possible.