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Charged With Assault By Beating Outcome
7 Answers
Hi, I have recently went out with a few of my friends to the club.. On my way back from the loo (hence, I cannot call any of my friends as whitnesess) I saw a guy groping a girl.. I told him to get off her, he replied by sending me in a well-known direction... And, well, I ended up punching him once giving him a black eye and a cut on the lip. The police then took me to the station, my solicitor (duty solicitor) told me to admit to all charges and said that I'm probably looking at police caution.. However, the CPS decided to press charges... It is my first assault and I have never been in trouble with the police before. I am now to appear before the magistrates court in a week or so. I am a student and will gather character references from my professors as well as from my part-time work as a tutor (which is now obviously gone..), as well as write a letter of apology. Could anyone tell me what is the likely outcome of this for me? I have been researching the whole process a while and now my head is spinning and I don't know what to expect... Thank you..
Answers
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'Assault by beating' is simply an alternative wording to 'common assault'. (i.e. it's still an offence "contrary to Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988"). When passing sentence, the magistrates have to decide which of three categories the offence falls into, based upon deciding whether both '
20:14 Wed 27th Jun 2018
Hi Rog
not much interest - perhaps the usual suspects are sleeping after a hot day
This is high stakes for you - you have already said the paid stuff as part time tutor has gone....
I woldnt rely on us
i think you should get lawyered up - yeah money I know
but there is alot to lose
you will have gathered by now the duty solicitor didnt er really do his stuff. I am not even gonna ask what the girl said.
not much interest - perhaps the usual suspects are sleeping after a hot day
This is high stakes for you - you have already said the paid stuff as part time tutor has gone....
I woldnt rely on us
i think you should get lawyered up - yeah money I know
but there is alot to lose
you will have gathered by now the duty solicitor didnt er really do his stuff. I am not even gonna ask what the girl said.
The bouncers detained me and by the time the police came, the girl was long gone... The police officer at the station didn't even want to listen to me talking about that and the duty solicitor clearly wasn't of much help... The officer said that he examined the CCTV from that night and both me and the guy are in the corner, so it is inconclusive... The solicitor just told me not to speak of the girl at the initial interview and I can see that it was bad advice (now I see it, at least), but if I am to rely on that in court it would look bad (according to my new solicitor). Oh, and I applied for legal aid with one of the firms, still waiting back on the application results... I am on here just looking for what happened with other such cases, to calm the nerves, I guess... So could you possibly suggest what am I looking at here? I also have an internship lined up over the summer so community service will literally destroy my life... Thank you so much once again...
'Assault by beating' is simply an alternative wording to 'common assault'. (i.e. it's still an offence "contrary to Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988").
When passing sentence, the magistrates have to decide which of three categories the offence falls into, based upon deciding whether both 'culpability' and 'harm' are regarded as 'low' or 'high'.
In your case it's likely that 'culpability' will be seen as 'low' (as it's not as if you set out to harm the other guy when you went out that night, and you didn't carry out a sustained assault on him) but 'harm' might be seen as 'high' (because 'common assault' can include simply pushing someone, or even just ruffling their hair, whereas the injuries the victim sustained were getting close to 'actual bodily harm').
That means that it would be seen as 'Category 2'. The 'starting point' sentence (from which the magistrates have to work up or down) for that category is a medium level community order. (i.e. something like a bit of unpaid work). With your early guilty plea, and your previous good record, it would seem extremely unlikely that the magistrates would consider moving the sentence upwards, and far more likely that they'd move it downwards. The lowest available sentence for a 'Category 2' offence is a 'Band A' fine.
My own guess (based upon reading all the relevant guidelines, together with around half a century of reading court reports) is that you'll receive either a 'Band A' or 'Band B' fine. (See my links below to see what that actually means in pounds).
To summarise though:
1. You CAN'T be sent to prison. (That can only happen, for 'Section 39' offences', where the offence is seen as being right at the very top of 'Category 1'. Your offence won't be) ;
2. You MIGHT get a Community Order (requiring you to do some unpaid work, or similar) ; but
3. It's FAR MORE LIKELY that you'll just receive a fine.
See pages 189 to 192 here to view exactly what the magistrates will have in front of them of when considering sentence:
https:/
See here for an explanation of the various fine bands:
https:/
See here for an explanation of what 'relevant weekly income' (in my previous link) actually https:/
When passing sentence, the magistrates have to decide which of three categories the offence falls into, based upon deciding whether both 'culpability' and 'harm' are regarded as 'low' or 'high'.
In your case it's likely that 'culpability' will be seen as 'low' (as it's not as if you set out to harm the other guy when you went out that night, and you didn't carry out a sustained assault on him) but 'harm' might be seen as 'high' (because 'common assault' can include simply pushing someone, or even just ruffling their hair, whereas the injuries the victim sustained were getting close to 'actual bodily harm').
That means that it would be seen as 'Category 2'. The 'starting point' sentence (from which the magistrates have to work up or down) for that category is a medium level community order. (i.e. something like a bit of unpaid work). With your early guilty plea, and your previous good record, it would seem extremely unlikely that the magistrates would consider moving the sentence upwards, and far more likely that they'd move it downwards. The lowest available sentence for a 'Category 2' offence is a 'Band A' fine.
My own guess (based upon reading all the relevant guidelines, together with around half a century of reading court reports) is that you'll receive either a 'Band A' or 'Band B' fine. (See my links below to see what that actually means in pounds).
To summarise though:
1. You CAN'T be sent to prison. (That can only happen, for 'Section 39' offences', where the offence is seen as being right at the very top of 'Category 1'. Your offence won't be) ;
2. You MIGHT get a Community Order (requiring you to do some unpaid work, or similar) ; but
3. It's FAR MORE LIKELY that you'll just receive a fine.
See pages 189 to 192 here to view exactly what the magistrates will have in front of them of when considering sentence:
https:/
See here for an explanation of the various fine bands:
https:/
See here for an explanation of what 'relevant weekly income' (in my previous link) actually https:/
Thanks for your reply.
A conditional discharge would only be an available option for the magistrates if they saw the offence as falling into 'Category 3', rather than into 'Category 2'. (See my first link above).
That would require them to view BOTH 'culpability' and 'harm' as 'low'. As I indicated above, I can't see them viewing 'culpability' as anything other than 'low'. It's the 'harm' factor that's 'borderline' here.
I've seen cases where fairly minor injuries (similar to those you've described) have been charged as 'actual bodily harm', so the magistrates MIGHT see 'harm' as at the upper end of the range which can fall into the 'Section 39' (common assault/assault by beating) range. If they do so the offence will be seen as Category 2, ruling out the possibility of a conditional discharge.
However 'harm' can also be taken to include psychological factors (such as when an assault on an elderly person leaves them afraid to leave their own home). Since there's no suggestion of that type of 'harm' having occurred in your case, it's possible that the magistrates MIGHT view the overall 'harm' as 'low. If they do so then it will be seen as a 'Category 3' offence. The 'starting point' sentence would then be a 'Band A' fine but your early guilty plea, together with your previous unblemished record, would almost certainly see the sentence pushed down to a conditional discharge.
So it really all comes down as to whether the magistrates view 'harm' as either 'high' or 'low'.
With regard to employment applications, unless the type of employment is exempted from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 [as amended], then you're not required to disclose any convictions which are 'spent'.
An offence resulting in a community order becomes 'spent' one year after the end of the order.
An offence resulting in a fine becomes 'spent' one year after the date of conviction.
A conditional discharge becomes 'spent' immediately at the end of the order.
Employment areas which are exempted from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 [as amended] are largely those working with children, with vulnerable adults or in the 'administration of justice', together with entry (only) into certain professions, such as accountancy. See the Annex to this document:
https:/
A conditional discharge would only be an available option for the magistrates if they saw the offence as falling into 'Category 3', rather than into 'Category 2'. (See my first link above).
That would require them to view BOTH 'culpability' and 'harm' as 'low'. As I indicated above, I can't see them viewing 'culpability' as anything other than 'low'. It's the 'harm' factor that's 'borderline' here.
I've seen cases where fairly minor injuries (similar to those you've described) have been charged as 'actual bodily harm', so the magistrates MIGHT see 'harm' as at the upper end of the range which can fall into the 'Section 39' (common assault/assault by beating) range. If they do so the offence will be seen as Category 2, ruling out the possibility of a conditional discharge.
However 'harm' can also be taken to include psychological factors (such as when an assault on an elderly person leaves them afraid to leave their own home). Since there's no suggestion of that type of 'harm' having occurred in your case, it's possible that the magistrates MIGHT view the overall 'harm' as 'low. If they do so then it will be seen as a 'Category 3' offence. The 'starting point' sentence would then be a 'Band A' fine but your early guilty plea, together with your previous unblemished record, would almost certainly see the sentence pushed down to a conditional discharge.
So it really all comes down as to whether the magistrates view 'harm' as either 'high' or 'low'.
With regard to employment applications, unless the type of employment is exempted from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 [as amended], then you're not required to disclose any convictions which are 'spent'.
An offence resulting in a community order becomes 'spent' one year after the end of the order.
An offence resulting in a fine becomes 'spent' one year after the date of conviction.
A conditional discharge becomes 'spent' immediately at the end of the order.
Employment areas which are exempted from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 [as amended] are largely those working with children, with vulnerable adults or in the 'administration of justice', together with entry (only) into certain professions, such as accountancy. See the Annex to this document:
https:/
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