The legal system in the United States takes theft very seriously. Because of this, there are a wide variety of different crimes that are recognized in the legal system that someone could be charged with related to stolen personal property. If you are in possession of an item that was stolen, you could be charged with a very serious misdemeanor or even a felony depending on the value of the underlying item. This could result in significant financial penalties and even imprisonment. Because of this, it is important that you have proper representation in place if you are charged with possession of stolen property. A possession of stolen property lawyer will be able to provide you with a variety of services.

Consultation on Case
When you are charged with possession of stolen property, the first thing that your attorney will be able to do is provide you with a consultation on your case. Possession of stolen property is a very complicated matter that requires a variety of different factors to make that. First, the prosecutor will have to be able to prove that you were actually in possession of property that was stolen. The prosecutor will also have to prove that you knew the items were stolen.

When you first meet with the prosecutor, they will be able to review all facts of the case and then provide you with information about how they could go about defending it. This part will also include explaining to you what the upcoming process will look like, what your potential penalties could be, and other information that you will need to know to better understand the charges.

Defending the Case
If you choose to hire a possession of stolen property lawyer, they will be able to defend your case a number of different ways. The first thing that they will look to do is prove that the items that you had were not stolen. To do this, they will be able to show that you actually purchased these items legally or that you obtained them as a gift from someone who received the gifts legally.

Even if the prosecutor can prove that the items were stolen, the possession of stolen property lawyer will still be able to provide you with a good defense. If the attorney can not prove that you actually stole the items, they will have to be able to prove that you knew the items were stolen by somebody else. If the prosecutor is not able to do this, they will not be able to charge you with possession of stolen property as the law requires that the defendant was aware of the crime taking place. If you are in possession of stolen goods but were unaware of the crime, the charges will be dropped but you will likely be required to return the items to the rightful owner.

Appeals Process
The majority of the time, the possession of stolen property charges will be handled outside of the courtroom. In most cases, you will be able to accept a plea bargain and may even be able to have the charges dropped entirely if you are willing to work with the prosecutors to identify the person that stole the property.

If the case does go to trial and you are not successful, the attorney that you hired will be able to provide you with ongoing appeals processes as well. If you are charged with a crime and convicted, the attorney will work with the prosecutors and judge to come up with a fair judgement for you. However, they will also be able to provide you with services to ensure that your sentence is reduced and that the charges are even dropped through the formal appeals process.