If it was me I would choose a jury trial every time......10 out of ten times......

Especially over a 2.00 item

Honestly if there isn't more to the story she wouldn't even have to face the judge she could just go to the court and pay the fine and be done with it.

If it was a frivolous case the DA would either offer her a really nice plea or throw the case out since they have a very large case load as it is and a Petty Larceny isn't normally worth their time to spend much time on.

Honestly most people now days think when they read trial that it's some big excessive thing like you see on Law and Order or the movie JFK when in reality on a Petty crime that isn't a Felony or a gross Misd(which we have here in Nevada) a trial is basically the defandant, the Deputy DA, sometimes not usually the cop involved and the witness or person bringing the charge if a citizens arrest, which an incident like this basically is.

Normally when I go to court on a small shoplifting case it's less then 10 minutes total. You get called to the stand, tell the judge what you saw, if theres video walk him through it and maybe get asked two or three questions by a defense attorney(if they are any good maybe five or six questions ) then the judge issues his verdict and sentance right there.

If she is refusing to plead guilty over this you may be right about there being more to it than we know. When I was 15 or 16 (whenever KISS' Animalize came out) went to a small record shop and the woman accused of us stealing a tape, a tape by a band we didn't listen or even heard of. Anyway the owner was absolutely certain that we took this damn thing and called the cops on us and they came asked for our side and let us go. That woman shouldn't have done what she did and I know she regretted doing to it

In 14 years I have never seen a jury trial on a Petty Larceny.

I would have sued if I were you.

Oh she got the hint!

Isn't the penalty for theft cutting off the offending hand?

In Shria law..........

Update;
Heard it on the radio.
Woman pleads (Not Guilty), to shoplifting and gets trial.

I hope they find her guilty and she is given the max penalty on top of having to repay all she has cost the tax payer in court costs. I would even go so fare as to hope she is black-balled from that particular store for life.

You can only be Trespassed from the store for 6 months to a year depending on the state your in then you have to retrespass them if you see them again after that.

It will be a trial in front of the judge and more then likely unless there was major incompitance she will get convicted and because she pissed the judge off by dragging this little stunt out she will probably get jailtime, a fine, restitution, theft awareness class and maybe probation. Plus a theft conviction on her record.

ridiculous

?

http://www.koat.com/r/30490595/detail.html

Yikes, she will go in front of a jury. I have NEVER seen that happen on a Petty Larceny and police were the ones who stopped her not an employee of the place.

Then she was offered a deal if she pled guilty she would get probation. There has to be something more going on there then just a small theft.

Yep. The police stopped her? They saw her steal a pumpkin from a store??? I don't think so....there has to be more. Maybe they were watching her for something else? Were the cops uniform or plain clothes, I wonder.

Nevermind that article was wrong.

UPDATE:

Lauren Medina, 23, who was accused of stealing a $2 pumpkin for a New Mexico pumpkin patch has been convicted of a shoplifting charge under a directed verdict from the judge during Tuesday’s bench trial.

Medina was sentenced to serve 40 hours of community service and pay court costs.

http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/details/latino-blotter-new-mexico-woman-faces-trial-for-alleged-theft-of-2-pum/14111/

I have a hunch police have a little more to do then sit and look for people stealing pumpkins at a pumpkin patch.

That's what I mean. They wouldn't be there. And, she wouldn't have pocketed it with uniformed cops standing there. So, why were they there and why were they watching her? My guess she is wanted for something else and this was their opportunity to hold her for now. I don't know. The whole thing sounds bizarre.

She claims it was a big misunderstanding, deputies say there is nothing to misunderstand.

The incident happened on the night of October 28, 2011.

A deputy who was keeping an eye on the Haunted Farm event says she witnessed Lauren Medina, 23, and a male friend each grab a pumpkin from a display barrel and then walk out of the park and to their car. That is when deputies detained them and cited them for shoplifting.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/crime/alleged-pumpkin-caper-goes-to-court/

It is her choice.....everyone has a right to a jury of their peers no matter the charge