ABH at Magistrates without criminal record outcome....

[DDGG88]

In October last year I was involved in a drunken incident at a club. A guy spilt my drink and after a fairly heated confrontation a struck him in the face. Never thrown a punch in my life but this hit the right place to break his nose.

I was detained/arrested accordingly and have just been informed I will be attending a magistrates court for a charge of ABH.

I've no previous record and am genuinely remorseful. I have written the victim a sincere letter of apology.

Obviously this is a very discomforting time for myself feeling as though my current job, my future and my freedom are in great jeopardy.

Can anyone offer advice of what position I may be in? I will be pleading guilty immediately

[Mike25]

Plead not guilty, you were provoked. These things happen all the time.

[New Judge]

Not a good idea at all, DDGG.

Whilst you can offer provocation in mitigation, it is not a defence. From your brief description of events it seems you are guilty. If you plead not guilty and are found guilty after a trial your sentence will be harsher (you are entitled to a discount of one third if you plead guilty at the earliest opportunity). You will also be liable for considerably increased prosecution costs.

Magistrates’ sentencing guidelines for the least serious examples of ABH (of which this seems to be one) suggest a “starting point” of a high level community order. This is for a first time offender pleading Not Guilty. Your guilty plea, your remorse and the provocation should enable the Bench to reduce your sentence. Your solicitor may be able to negotiate a reduction in the charge to Common Assault, though I would suggest this is unlikely in view of the injury sustained by your victim.

[DDGG88]

@New Judge- thank you for your sence. Mike's response really wonderfully fluffed with my mind after I was so settled to plead guilty.

How would I put across that it was provoked? Would it not look like I was trying to avoid pleading guilty by claiming it was provoked?

To level with you, after the guy spilt my drink, I asked him to buy another, he told me to "flump off", after frustration between us I signalled my friends that I needed help, THOUGHT he took a swing at me, then punched him.

Is this verging on intent?

There's CCTV I can't argue with, I've not seen it but I don't want to dig my hole any deeper.

How likely would a suspended sentance be and under what circumstances would it be given?

[New Judge]

It is unlikely that the Magistrates will consider that the offence crosses the “custody threshold”, DDGG, and if that is the case a suspended sentence is not among their sentencing options. (A suspended prison sentence can only be imposed if the offence warrants custody).

If you read page 27 of this document (Magistrates’ sentencing guidelines):

http://sentencingcoun...pdate_1__2__3_web.pdf

You will see that provocation is a factor that reduces culpability. You really need a solicitor to put your mitigation to the court. He or shee will look at all the evidence (including the CCTV) and will be able to put the matter to the court in the best way.