Shoplifting/Petit Theft, First Offense

Because you do not state your location, I will base my answer off my state of practice, which is Texas. Note that states have different laws in regards to these types of situations, but the principle doctrines which I will use in my answer generally apply to all states within US, although variations are present. First, let us deal with the criminal part of your question. Then we'll tackle the civil part. In Texas, there exists two ways to conceal a criminal record. The first is called Expunction. This applies when the prosecution drops the case against you (for say, lack of evidence), or you are found not guilty, or you are pardoned by State. Different states have different/additional variations that would qualify you for an expunction, but these are generally the big three. Let us assume that the prosecution will not drop the charges and that you would lose at trial. Then this is not an option. There is another way to conceal one's criminal record - this is called an Order of Non-Disclosure (OND). An OND applies when (and again, this is in Texas, so things might be somewhat different but similar in your state) you plea out on deferred adjudication and successfully complete the terms for the deferred adjudication. Deferred adjudication is basically like probation. If the prosecutor offers you this option, you then say that you are indeed guilty but the Court agrees to "forgive and forget" if you agree not to get into more criminal trouble within a certain amount of time (anywhere from six months to years, depending on the case), pay restitution to what you stole, pay court costs, and perhaps one or two other minor things. If you choose deferred adjudication and complete the period successfully, AND complete all the necessary elements of your deferred adjudication as mandated by the Court, the the case against you will be dropped. Then you can immediately petition the Court for an NDO, asking them to seal the records. Note that an NDO is not available for some misdemeanors and many felony deferred adjudications, even if you complete your deferred adjudication successfully. These include but not limited to: aggrevated acts, sexual assaults, indecency with children, etc. Different states have different rules about which misdemeanors and felonies deferred adjudications are not eligible for an NDO. Check with your local criminal attotrney. Also note that if you screw up your deferred adjudication, you will be in trouble, because since part of the arrangement to receive a deferred adjudication requires you to admit guilt, i.e. plead guilty, and you break your probationary period, you will be autmatically sentensed since you already plead guilty. And the NDO will no longer be an option! So, if you choose deferred adjudication, make sure to successfully complete it! If successful with your petition for an expunction or an NDO, then you can legally say that were never arrested/charged with a crime/convicted. Note that while on deferred adjudication, you would have to answer YES to "where you ever arrested" but not to everything else. Now, are you yourself eligible for deferred adjudication? Although I do not know what state you are in, based on the information you gave about the crime (first offense, misdemeanor), I would say most likely. Ask the prosecutor for this option, or have your attorney ask for this. Make sure that your charge is eligible for an NDO after successful completion of the deferred adjudication! Now, if you're still with me, let's address the civil side. It is up to the retailer to file a civil suit against you. Whether or not it is completed, there will be a record of it in the local county clerk's database of such a suit filed, but most companies check only criminal records, not civil suits. Also, as part of deferred adjudication on theft, you are almost always required to make restitution and to write an apology letter. That will usually be enough for the retailer.

Many jurisdictions have pretrial diversion programs for 1st time offenders. When you comply with the conditions of such a program your case is dismissed. Upon dismissal you can seek to seal or expunge your record which would remove it from most databases. Contact your clerk of court for the misdemeanor division and ask whether your county has such a program.

You need an attorney, and you need this to fight this like all get-out because you do not want to try to get a job with something like that on your record.