Are minor infractions considered Misdemeanors? PLEASE HELP!!!?

Question

Today's date is 7/29/08. Back in 2006, I was 18 my friends & I was given a ticket for sitting in a car on the outskirts of a public park while waiting to meet with other friends. There was no loud music at all. The police came & give us a ticket for loitering they said it was a minor infraction. The court date was set after the day I had to move out of town. I tried calling to moved up the court date but I couldn't. To make a long story short I moved back to the city the situation occurred in. I tried applying for a job and they said on my record it had shown I had a criminal background of a misdemeanor. I called the courts & was told that I could make a court date with a judge to get it thrown out or I could pay an $80 ticket to get it off my record. I decided to pay to the ticket because the I still had not received my information for my scheduled court date. Now there is a criminal misdemeanor on my record. The court now says I have to get it expunged in 5 years. Is that right?

Answer 1

Hello Tia. This originally started out as an infraction but when you didnt take care of it, it was moved up to a misdemeanor.

To answer your specific question, any criminal defense attorney can handle this paperwork for you. The cost varies with the attorney and what they feel their time is worth to them.

Another way to handle a misdemeanor is to go to the Clerk of Courts and they can give you the application packet to expunge this yourself. It isnt terribly complicated for a misdemeanor charge. Fill it out, file it with the courts and you will be notified by mail. It does not require a trip to court.

In either case, best of luck and I hope you can find this useful

Answer 2

did you pay the loitering ticket? A loitering ticket is most likely just a city made law. An example is no skateboarding here.

it should be no more than a class D forfeiture. Unless you didnt pay for it, it may be pumped to a misdemeanor.

Answer 3

Depending on your state there are 3  catagories of criminal behavior.

1. An infraction, usually a traffic violation where a citiation is issued and you have a court date.

2. A Misdemeanor, a crime punishable by up to a year in jail if convicted.

3. A felony, a crime that will get you a year or longer in prison if convicted.