Shoplifting charge? Don't forget about the Meier & Frank defense. Or should that be the Macy's defense?

This wikilog article is a draft, it was not published yet.

by: Ryan • November 18, 2013 • no comments

Note that, for purposes of both restitution and the degree of theft by taking, the value of the stolen property from a retailer is what the item likely would have retailed for. Too often, people confuse that price with the price on the price tag. But items often don't sell at their full price -- the department store Meier & Frank was famous for its daily sales. A defense of shoplifiting at M & F would require -- just as Macy's now would -- checking out the newspaper sold on the day of the theft, to determine what was 20 or 30% off. Sometimes that can make the difference between a theft I and a theft II.

And not everything sells. Last week, there was a COA opinion calculating restitution at over $36k for stolen oxycontin pills from a Rite-Aid. That's what the pills would have sold for, if they all sold at full price. As for as I know, such pills are never discounted (but I wouldn't really know). But do they ever get tossed in the trash for going unsold past an expiration date? I don't know that either, but I'd want to find out.