Me and my girlfriend--Kyra Mannix--has been charged, within…

A disorderly person's offense in New Jersey is not considered a crime. It is a criminal violation and would show as a conviction on your record, but you're not going to go to jail for it, and it's still only an infraction.

That said, a shoplifting offense can hinder you personally and professionally because employers don't like to hire offenders convicted of theft, even on low level cases.

There are ways of coming out of a case like this without a conviction on your record, for which as a first arrest the two of you would be eligible. These are special forms of probation called diversion or deferred adjudication where you essentially work the case off of your record by completing some time on supervision, paying some fines, performing community service, and perhaps taking anti-shoplifting classes. Do everything correctly and your case gets dismissed.

To negotiate this for yourself, contact the prosecutor and let him or her know it's your first arrest and ask if you can resolve this in some way that will keep a conviction off of your record. See what he says. If he offers you a deal that does that, when you come to court, you can take that deal. If he says no, then when you come in, have a lawyer with you. He should be able to do more for you than you could do for yourself.