Glassing

[24shaw]

I was recently in a pub drinking, at around 1 oclock i was having some friendly banter about a girl with another male who was very angry and grabbed hold of my jacket, i felt threatened and reacted by punching the male but actually hitting the guy in the side of the head with a glass which i was drinking from in my hand, the glass smashed and caused my hand to bleed and the males face to bleed, the guy reacted by taking his shirt off and getting very aggressive, i reacted very calmly and we were both sent to a & e, the police were realy calm with me stating that we all react differently when threatend and i wasnt arrested that night, the male continued to threaten me with other people he knew would get me, ! the male had stitched to his cuts in a & e, i had to go for plastic surgery on my hand the next day and on he evening i was called in to the police station and arrested for interview for GBH with intent and called to go back in a months time..............can anyone tell me what is likely to happen as i am really confused to where the intent could have come from? and am i in serious trouble? i have a really good job! and thats the most important thing to me, i really dont want to loose my job and was told by the officer that i dont need to tell my work! so i told work i fell in cut my hand? any help would be grreat, im not proud of my reaction and really want this to be over!

[ELVIS68]

Are you saying you forgot you had the glass in your hand when you punched him?

Sorry, I don`t buy that and I doubt the judge will either

[factor-fiction]

Having friendly banter with a male who was very angry?

I'm afraid punching the guy with your fist would have been an over reaction in the circumstances. Hitting him with a glass is indefensible I'm afraid. Walking away from an angry person is the best action to take.

[bednobs]

i'm afraid your job is the least of your worries shaw. if you get convicted of gbh with intent, it is a very very serious charge, one step down from attempted murder. if you are found guilty you will almost definately get a long prison sentance (5 years?)
Please se a solicitor as soon as you can

[24shaw]

i was told by the interviewing officer that to punch the guy would have been a normal reaction as he aggressively grabed hold of me and was about to hit me! but the fact that i had a glass is what we need to resolve! i honestly just swung my arm at the person and this was clear on the cctv video! surely there is no intent as i had no time to think "il hit this person with my glass full of jd and coke"?

surely a prison sentance is ridiculously over the top? and 5 years is laughable if you see the CCTV as im really not an aggressive person in general

[bednobs]

you give a (necessarily) biased view of your actions though. imagine how it seems to those reading this (or a jury in court) that you glassed someone in the face. Imagine how it will seem when he turns up in court with a big scar on his face, and giving a very different accont of things (ie you were the agressor, you did it for no reason, he never laid his hands on you)

I'm afraid what a policeman said to you is of no consequence as he wont be the one trying or sentancing you. If what he wwas saying was true, or an indication of how the police view your crime, you wouldn't have been arrested for GBH with intent. Have you been charged yet?
i seriously urge you to get a solicitor pronto to see if they can get the charge skewed downwards.
the prison sentance i mention, from previus excellent answers by chris that i have read, is the starting point for people convicted after a jury trial who have pleaded not guilty

[bednobs]

also i fail to see how cctv will help you - it will surely show you breaking a glass on the other persons face?

[bednobs]

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Law/Criminal/Qu estion487153.html
see chris's answer here which provides relevant links

[24shaw]

the CCTV shows the male stepping towards me and grabbing me by my collar, he admitted that he started the fight by doing this, i just reacted wrongly by using my glass instead of just my fist, but i was drunk! and just swung with my right hand which had a glass in it! the male then continued to stay very aggressive by takin his shirt off and threatening me!

i have been arrested and released on bail til may, where i will find out if the case has been dropped or given a court date, (which i would then seek a solicitor) does this mean i have been charged then ?

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Bednobs has already made some valid points, and kindly referred you to some of my previous posts. I'll try to fill in any gaps.

Firstly, as Bednobs states, GBH with intent is an extremely serious charge, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. So you need to take the matter very seriously. (e.g. if the only way you can get enough time off work to attend meetings with your solicitor and barrister is to cancel your annual holiday, then do so. Otherwise you might find yourself taking a very long 'holiday' in one of 'Her Majesty's hotels').

You need to get your solicitor to obtain exact details of the other guy's injuries. A few cuts requiring stitches do not normally fall within the category of 'GBH' (either with or without intent). They simply amount to 'ABH'. (There's no such charge as 'ABH with intent'). Take a look here (paragraph 46) to read the definition of the type of injuries which constitute ABH:
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/offences_ag ainst_the_person/#P189_14382
Then scroll down to paragraph 55 to see what constitutes GBH. (Your best hope of avoiding prison might be get the charge reduced to 'ABH'). The following section (particularly paragraph 65) indicates why 'with intent' has been added to the possible GBH charge.

[Buenchico]

ABH and GBH (without intent) are both 'either way' offences, which mean that they can be heard before a magistrates' court or referred up to the Crown Court. GBH with intent has to be referred to the Crown Court. In practice (unless you can get the charge dropped to ABH) it's likely that you'll eventually appear before the Crown Court. There will be several procedural hearings in the magistrates' court, and then yet more in the Crown Court, before anything substantial actually happens, which is likely to be in around a year's time. (Theoretically you could be remanded into custody at any stage but, in practice, you'll almost certainly be repeatedly bailed).

If you're convicted, the judge will refer to this document, which relates to sentences for first-time offenders convicted after a trial. (See page 13 for GBH with intent, page 15 for GBH and page 17 for ABH):
http://www.sentencing-guidelines.gov.uk/docs/a ssault-against-the%20person.pdf
The element of provocation you faced would probably push your sentence to the bottom of the range shown. An early guilty plea would see a third deducted from the sentence. The actual time served in prison would normally be half of the sentence.

Don't wait until you have to return to the police station. Contact a solicitor immediately. He (or she) will then have studied all of the evidence before he/she accompanies you on your next visit.

Chris

[AndrewJevs]

I got 3 years in Crown Court but i had previous. If its your first offence and the charges get reduced you might get away with 6 months from magistrates or even just fine/comm service if your lucky

[Buenchico]

While AndrewJev's post is a welcome contribution, it might slightly mislead you. As stated above, if the charge is GBH with intent (rather than just GBH or ABH) it can't be dealt with in a magistrates' court. The offence is 'indictable only', which means that the magistrates must pass the case to the Crown Court.

Chris

[AndrewJevs]

I did say that magistrates depended on charges bein reduced.

[Buenchico]

AJ:
Please accept my apologies. I really must learn to read posts properly before responding - or maybe I should just give up drinking cheap plonk!

24shaw:
None of the foregoing changes my original advice that you need to contact a solicitor a.s.a.p. You need to ensure that he/she has as much time as possible to consider your case and, if appropriate, to seek advice from a barrister.

Chris

[AndrewJevs]

No worries. Anyway the best thing this guy can do is get a decent brief coz he could be facin similar sentence to me if goes to crown court on more serious charge

[24shaw]

i will seek advice from a solicitor on the weekend, thanks for all the help and advice!

[AndrewJevs]

Hope it goes well for you mate.

[pmnwuk]

You have a defence in such that you state that you forgot that the glass was in your hand and it was an automated reaction as you thought he was going to and immediately stike you - this should get the offence reduced - stating you were drunk is not wise as it then puts what you are saying in doubt.

I would precidt that you will get community service - if you are a respectable guy with no previous, after reports you will not go to prison.

I appreciate you must be very worried but dont give up hope if what you say is the truth - I have just been through a trial for assulting police officers, racial section 5 and found not guilty on all. The only person who understood and knew what actually happened was my wife who was stood next to me at the time of the incident.

As previously mentioned get a solicitor ASAP -I wish you luck.

[Tweed]

generally the prosecution "service" will throw a lot of sh*t your way and hope that some of it sticks.

[ryernnn]

As he applied unlawful force to you before you smashed the glass you could have a sucessful plee of self-defence if you successfully show that you did whatever was instinctive and natrual in those circumstances. Also, it is unlikely that you had sufficient intent at the time of the act. For GBH S18 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 as you actually had to intend the level of harm that you caused (ie the bleeding,cut,stitches).

You may also have a case to pleed the defence of voluntary intoxication (if you were drunk) which will drop the charge down to s20 OAPA 1861. However this isn't very effective as they still have the same sentence. Get a solicitor :)