ADH charge- First offence

[rizpick]

The other night on the way home , myself and three friends stopped off on the way home to get a bite to eat after a night out. Unfortunately 3 other guys came in also quite drunk and started to call my mate a ginger t#@t. He didnt take kindly to it and squared up with them. The next thing i know one of my other mates has started to scrap with one of the other guys. I stupidly jumped into help him.

It got scrappy and amidst the tussle I stupidly kicked one of the guys in the head. I dont know why or what got into me.,Thankfully no one got seriously hurt and only one of the other guys got a split lip. I have never been involved in anything like this and have no record. But it has all been like one stupid bad dream. One that I deservidly feel really bad about. I should have just walked away.

We have all been charged with ADH and have been let out on bail until next month. I am really worried because of the kick and that he didnt strike me but I was trying to help my friend.

I dont know if any of you can help with some advice or to give me an idea of what to expect from the police and courts. I am going to plead guilty and have decided to stop drinking all together and go to get help with violence management. Thanks for any advice or help :-(

[Buenchico]

ADH? Never heard of it!
I assume that you mean 'ABH' ('assault occasioning actual bodily harm').

Sentencing guidelines for ABH are on page 17 of this document:
http://www.sentencing...person_accessible.pdf

It should be noted that the court may well regard a kick to the head as the 'use of a weapon'. See Section 22 on page 6 for confirmation of that fact.

It should further be noted that the sentences shown there refer to first-time offenders, convicted after a trial. A guilty plea, at the earliest opportunity, can see a substantial reduction in the sentence (which is normally one third in the case of a custodial sentence).

Since the offence was not pre-meditated, the lowest sentencing band would seem to apply. The 'use of a weapon' (i.e. your shod foot) MIGHT push the sentence towards the maximum 26 weeks custody (say 24 weeks), which could then be reduced by one third, to 16 weeks, because of your guilty plea. You'd then serve half of that period (i.e. 8 weeks) in prison.

However it's probably far more likely that the court would take the view that the kick pushes the sentence above the 'starting point' of a high-level community order but your guilty plea take the sentence back to that point.

So, based upon your account of events, my guess is that you'll receive a high-level community order (i.e. 'probation' + perhaps 200 hours unpaid work).

Chris

[rizpick]

Thanks Chris for the info. I hope the judge can see past this moent of stupidity on my part. I would deservedly take the community service. I just cant bring myslef to go into jai;. I think it would actually kill me. Thanks again for the help