questions & answers

Question: My daughter was trying on clothes at Sears with a friend of hers. They were in separate booths and after they left they were stopped by a security guard who found several items of clothing in her friends bag. My daughter did not have a purse or a bag on her. The police were called, but the video clearly showed that they were using separate dressing rooms. The police declined to file charges against my daughter although charges have been filed against the friend. We just received a letter from a law firm representing Sears demanding payment in the amount of $168.00. Can they legally bill us?

Answer: In the criminal justice system, if a person is not arrested, prosecuted, and found guilty of having committed a crime against a victim or if in a civil case is not found to owe a responsibility to a victim/petitioner then the person does not legally owe the victim/petitioner any obligation. However, if a case has been brought forward and a judge has in fact made a ruling in favor of the plaintiff in a case then an obligation is formed. All statutes in Arizona state that a judge imposes a sentence in a case. Without a court order based on legal grounds, there is no obligation.