32-Year-Old Homemaker Avoids Immigration Issues and Jail Time After Being Charged With Theft

A 32-year-old immigrant homemaker recently faced serious immigration-related issues after being caught on camera shoplifting an item from a local store. Realizing the implications a conviction for A misdemeanor theft could have on her ability to stay in the country, the woman reached out to Indianapolis theft lawyer Sean Hessler for help.

Throughout negotiations with the prosecutor, attorney Hessler discovered his client would be offered a typical diversion agreement in which she’d have to take an anti-shoplifting class. Upon completion of this class, her case would be dismissed. This was not an ideal option for the client, because that after successful completion of a diversion agreement, she would have been considered to have committed a crime of moral turpitude with a sentence of more than a year. This would make her removable from the U.S., which was not an acceptable outcome.

After working with the client’s immigration lawyers, defense lawyer Hessler reached an outcome that involved an actual sentence of zero days in jail, and no fines. Though the woman did have to admit to the offense, she avoided immigration issues because she didn’t complete a diversion agreement of one (or more) years.

The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.