St Mary's Winter Quiz 11 January 2025
Quizzes & Puzzles0 min ago
Can It Get Thrown Out ?
Hi I have a question , my boyfriend was arrested and on bail the cps said they couldn't make a decision so have left it to the courts to decide he is due to enter his plea this week, there is no physical evidence , he is innocent if he pleads not guilty could they decide on the plea hearing to dismiss the case and not to any further ? , only evidence is a statement which has been retracted and in retraction statement says original was a lie , no other kind of evidence
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“…the cps said they couldn't make a decision so have left it to the courts to decide he is due to enter his plea this week”
Courts do not decide whether charges should be brought or what they should be. That is a job for the CPS.
If he has been given a court date he must have been charged. You (and he) needs to find out what it is.
“…if he pleads not guilty could they decide on the plea hearing to dismiss the case and not to any further”
No. When he enters his not guilty plea (at the Magistrates’ court) firstly it will be determined whether the matter is heard there or at the Crown Court. Then a “case management” hearing will be held. This is concerned with administrative matters to ensure the trial goes ahead smoothly but there will be no opportunity at that stage for the matter to be dismissed.
Courts do not decide whether charges should be brought or what they should be. That is a job for the CPS.
If he has been given a court date he must have been charged. You (and he) needs to find out what it is.
“…if he pleads not guilty could they decide on the plea hearing to dismiss the case and not to any further”
No. When he enters his not guilty plea (at the Magistrates’ court) firstly it will be determined whether the matter is heard there or at the Crown Court. Then a “case management” hearing will be held. This is concerned with administrative matters to ensure the trial goes ahead smoothly but there will be no opportunity at that stage for the matter to be dismissed.
Not unless the CPS decide to discontinue the matter. The court has no power to dismiss the case without a trial if they insist on going ahead.
What has he been charged with?
Is this, by any chance, a domestic violence incident where the alleged victim has made a retraction statement after the event?
What has he been charged with?
Is this, by any chance, a domestic violence incident where the alleged victim has made a retraction statement after the event?
"...the cps when they charged him said they was charging him because they couldn't make a decision"
I don't think you understand the situation correctly. The CPS have made a decision. They have decided to charge your boyfriend with assault (by which I assume you mean Common Assault).
Having done that the matter is now largely out of their hands (unless they review the matter and decide to discontinue it. Though, having decided to prosecute your boyfriend they will only review that decision if there are material changes of some sort occur they do not already know about).
Your boyfriend will have to attend court and enter his plea. If he pleads not guilty then the matter will go to trial as I outlined in my first answer. If the charge is Common Assault the trial will be held in the Magistrates' Court.
I don't think you understand the situation correctly. The CPS have made a decision. They have decided to charge your boyfriend with assault (by which I assume you mean Common Assault).
Having done that the matter is now largely out of their hands (unless they review the matter and decide to discontinue it. Though, having decided to prosecute your boyfriend they will only review that decision if there are material changes of some sort occur they do not already know about).
Your boyfriend will have to attend court and enter his plea. If he pleads not guilty then the matter will go to trial as I outlined in my first answer. If the charge is Common Assault the trial will be held in the Magistrates' Court.
We keep getting posts on here where someone has 'withdrawn ' a statement.
To put it straight you can not withdraw a statement after making it.
The only thing you can do is to make a second statement explains why the first statement was wrong.
The first statement still stands and will be read by the judge or magistrate.
The person who 'withdrew' the statement can expect to be asked in court why it was made in the first place and why they want to withdraw it.
To put it straight you can not withdraw a statement after making it.
The only thing you can do is to make a second statement explains why the first statement was wrong.
The first statement still stands and will be read by the judge or magistrate.
The person who 'withdrew' the statement can expect to be asked in court why it was made in the first place and why they want to withdraw it.
His probation officer has said that if they ask her she is going to say she doesn't suggest custody but community service/order , are they likely to ask her ? And would they listen to her ? Just to clarify he isn't guilty of assault only criminal damage but trials can take months and then if he's found guilty itl be worse so he wants to do what will see him home sooner with his daughter,
You really need to speak to a solicitor to get all these answers as, whilst they are not complicated, they require a lengthy explanation. I’ll try to be brief and answer your queries:
If the probation service has been asked to prepare a pre-sentence report the Magistrates will take heed of its recommendations.
The length of time to get to a trial in the Magistrates’ Court varies from area to area, but you’re probably looking at about three months.
He is unlikely to go to prison for common assault and criminal damage unless the offence is particularly serious. As far as conviction goes, if he pleads guilty he accepts what the prosecution is saying and no evidence will be needed in court. If the matter goes to trial the prosecution will almost certainly require your mother to attend court and give evidence (and they will issue a witness summons if necessary). She will be questioned on both her statements and may be declared a “hostile witness”. This means she can be cross-examined by the prosecutor and asked to explain the substantial differences between her two statements.
If the probation service has been asked to prepare a pre-sentence report the Magistrates will take heed of its recommendations.
The length of time to get to a trial in the Magistrates’ Court varies from area to area, but you’re probably looking at about three months.
He is unlikely to go to prison for common assault and criminal damage unless the offence is particularly serious. As far as conviction goes, if he pleads guilty he accepts what the prosecution is saying and no evidence will be needed in court. If the matter goes to trial the prosecution will almost certainly require your mother to attend court and give evidence (and they will issue a witness summons if necessary). She will be questioned on both her statements and may be declared a “hostile witness”. This means she can be cross-examined by the prosecutor and asked to explain the substantial differences between her two statements.
I am afraid that in this sort of case a frequent reason that a victim 'withdraws' their statement is that they are too scared of the person who assulted them to go through with it. The CPS know this and so they have a policy of continuing the prosecution even without the co-operation of the victim. I am not saying your BF is guilty but you must understand why the case is going ahead.
There is more evidence than just the 2 statements, the police who attended the incident and made the arrest will have made notes about it, that evidence will be looked at.
What about the criminal damage, was that part of the assault? We still do not know the full story. Is it 2 seperate charges or one charge with 2 counts?
There must be evidence of the criminal damage or he could not be charged with it.
There is more evidence than just the 2 statements, the police who attended the incident and made the arrest will have made notes about it, that evidence will be looked at.
What about the criminal damage, was that part of the assault? We still do not know the full story. Is it 2 seperate charges or one charge with 2 counts?
There must be evidence of the criminal damage or he could not be charged with it.
She said he broke my laptop that I haven't had in over a year, don't have a clue why she thought about that, and then said back in January he put his hands around her throat, she then did another statement saying she lied , no one knows why she made the statement in the first place but other people were involved in making th stories up too
Sorry, I still do not understand what happened. You need to tell us the whole story from the start. Your Mum and your boyfriend had an argument? Was that the start of this? There has to be a lot you have not told us, so far you have not told us anything that I can see would have lead to charges of assault and criminal damage.
There was no actual arguement they have never got on, I was staying at my mums for the weekend but I didn't realise that between her and other family members they wanted him back in prison hoping I would move back home with our daughter , so she called police and made the statements, he does have a record is that why they don't need any physical evidence ? As there is no laptop so how can he be charged for it ?
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