Municipalities in the St Louis area (including Richmond Heights MO) are limited to issuing misdemeanor criminal charges (felonies can only issue at the county or state level). But there is a broad range of misdemeanors the state may impose: marijuana possession, drug paraphernalia, assault, trespass, stealing, and peace disturbance to name but a few).
Pleading Guilty Is Not Your Best Option!!But most people charged with a crime do not hire an attorney to help them through the tangled world of the criminal justice system. Either they cannot afford to hire a lawyer (municipalities do not have public defenders), they do not know what they’re options are, or they truly believe that a misdemeanor will not cause any serious damage (in the present or future).
While it is true that most prosecutors / judges will not insist upon any jail time for the commission of a misdemeanor, that does not mean that a simple misdemeanor can’t cause major problems for you down the road.
Most people who do not hire an attorney will simply plead guilty to the charge. But this will in turn allow the state to put the conviction onto your permanent record. This means that anyone who wishes to perform a criminal background check on you will see the conviction. And depending upon your circumstances at the time, you could miss out on a great many opportunities.
For example, most employers run background checks on potential employees. Most landlords do the same thing for potential renters. And more often than not, background checks are run on those who are trying to take out a business loan and/or financial aid for school. If your record is unclean, there’s a good chance you’ll be screened out as a candidate.
But things do not have to go this way!! We will examine all the facts of your case, and set a plan of action to help ensure that the charge does not ruin your life. In some cases, we can even get the charges dismissed (depending on the facts of your case). Other times we can get the charges reduced to something minor (so that nothing negative shows up on your record). Either way, that is a better outcome than you simply pleading guilty!!
The affordable St Louis, MO criminal defense attorneys at The Bankruptcy Company, have been helping people with their criminal charges for over ten (10) years. We want to do everything we can to help you get the best possible outcome! We want to make sure that your record stays as clean!! And we want to do all of this at an affordable price. The fees for a typical St. Louis misdemeanor charge start at $450. Our fees for a low level felony charge start at $750. But the initial consultation to discuss your legal issues is free of charge. So contact us today!!
We have two main locations: in the Central West End of St. Louis, at 1 North Taylor (on the corner of Taylor and Laclede), 63108; and in the Twin Cities of Festus / Crystal City, at 1000 Truman Blvd (Highway 61/67), 63019. The initial consultation is free of charge. So contact us today to learn more!!