Hamilton County: Boydston trial on shoplifting charge possible, attorney says

The Hamilton County district attorney’s office confirmed Wednesday that it does not plan on giving Board of Education member Janice Boydston a pass on the charge that she stole about $40 worth of items from Wal-Mart last summer.

Defense attorney Sam Robinson III said a jury trial to resolve the lone misdemeanor theft charge against Ms. Boydston is not out of the question should his client not be granted a form of alternative punishment.

“Ms. Boydston does not plan on admitting guilt now or ever,” Mr. Robinson said. “She maintains her innocence.”

Ms. Boydston is seeking “pre-trial diversion” for the incident, an alternative form of sentencing that allows first-time offenders to avoid admitting guilt and have all evidence of a criminal prosecution wiped from their records after a year of good behavior.

Assistant District Attorney Bill Hall said the only resolution he is considering at this time is “guilty diversion” — officially known as judicial diversion — which is similar to pre-trial diversion but requires a defendant to admit guilt.

“There have to be consequences,” Mr. Hall said Wednesday after Ms. Boydston appeared briefly in court to reschedule her case for June 2.

Mr. Robinson said Wednesday that complete documentation of Ms. Boydston’s eligibility for pre-trial diversion should be filed by the next court date. He added that he plans to research pre-trial diversion questions that have arisen in the appellate courts to bolster their position.

Eligibility involves factors such as the defendant’s criminal background and the facts of the case. Ms. Boydston has no prior criminal background.

Mr. Robinson said he hopes Hamilton County Criminal Judge Rebecca Stern will grant pre-trial diversion to the veteran board of education member, regardless of the prosecutor’s plan.

Ms. Boydston mostly has remained silent on the incident, which took place at the Lookout Valley Wal-Mart, although she initially defended herself.

“It was stupid of me to have put my purse into the buggy, stupid of me for the purse to be open, but there was no intent,” Ms. Boydston said a few days after the July 25 incident.

The allegedly stolen items included a cosmetics case, a scented candle and a package of shoe inserts, according to testimony at a preliminary court hearing last fall. A Wal-Mart employee testified that she saw Ms. Boydston deliberately put the items in her purse.

Ms. Boydston pointed out that she paid for about $85 worth of groceries during the same shopping trip.