[quote=McGuyver;220755] In this country EVERYONE is Innocent until proven guilty (accept O.J.). And because of that, unless you are convicted, nothing should be held against you.

This is the most naive thing I have seen in a long time! Thats how things are supposed to be but unfortunately the reality here is that being accused of something in this day and age is just as bad as being guilty.

Now, if I were you I would try a couple of different approches to sloving your issue.

1. Don't lie about it to anyone (as stated before)
2. Approach the casino manager if possibile. Explain your situation and the facts, take responsibility for the event and ask for forgiveness. Maybe the casino will drop the charges.
3. If two above fails, have the lawyer keep fighting it and if your found guilty then appeal it. Keep fighting because no establishment wants to spend money on legal fees persuing such a non-event.

Thats were I would start. Hope it helps.

I'm not a lawyer but I was a security guard at JCPenny while going through ERAU. I have to agree that it is not in a companies best interest to persue a trespassing charge. Every one we apprehended for shoplifting was ordered not to reenter the store by the police and we maintained photo records. Even so, we never brought up trespassing charges agianst people who trespassed. (We just waited for them to steal again then apprehended them for larceny). Trespassing is such a petty crime that it doesn't make sense to expend company finances on legal fees and payroll for employees to attend court proceedings.

I too wouldn't sweat it, this seems like something that can get cleared up because it was just a misunderstanding. Keep your head high, it'll work out in the end.

[quote=Shaggy1970;220933][quote=McGuyver;220755] In this country EVERYONE is Innocent until proven guilty (accept O.J.). And because of that, unless you are convicted, nothing should be held against you.

This is the most naive thing I have seen in a long time! Thats how things are supposed to be but unfortunately the reality here is that being accused of something in this day and age is just as bad as being guilty.


Shaggy I agree, some people think where there is smoke, there is fire, and that is human nature. Just like if you were arrested for raping your mother, but the charges were dropped. I may not want my mother hanging around you. But if I tried to fire you from a job I offered you because of just being arrested and not being found guilty, you would have one heck of a law suit against me.

I would not go to the casino to apologize or explain anything. Let your attorney handle it. If it comes up in an interview I think the interviewers would laugh at the pettiness. They may only question why you weren't more diplomatic to the security guy. By the way which casino were you at? I'll be sure to avoid it....particularly with jerks in security like that. Charged with trespassing....YGTBSM.

[QUOTE=McGuyver;220947][quote=Shaggy1970;220933]Partially untrue. An employer can pass on you for any reason that does not fall into a protected category, as defined by the Equal Employment Opportunity laws. Things like age, sex, national origin, race, religion, etc. are some protected categories.

Quite honestly an employer can withhold or rescind an offer of employment because he doesn't like the color of your shoes, your bad breath, or in this instance, an arrest. This is particularly not actionable in an at-will state, which accounts for the majority of states, Montana being the most obvious dissenter.

Thanks again for the responses guys! I am going to have to wait it out and see what happens. With that said If I am not convicted of a crime and they dont specifically ask me if I have ever been arrested, I will not bring it up on my own. If they do ask me I will be very open and honest about it! Not that I am trying to hide anything but like a previous poster said, I dont want to volunteer information that they may not like. I am innocent, my record will hopefully show that, this was a "citizens" arrest, and I hopefully will not be convicted of anything and I hope a future employer would be able to see how F'in ridiculous this charge is. Any other thoughts?
thanks so much for all the responses so far