advice on sec gbh charge!!!

[shelley39]

hi. a family member is going to crown court for the above charge. he has no previous convictions at all. references are impecable and he is very remorsful. the damage caused unfortunately was a broken jaw as he punched him and the other guy needed surgery for repair. can anyone advise being a first offence with all the above if a custodial sentence may occur. thanks!

[Bettypat]

He is obviously entering a guilty plea. A lot depends on the circumstances of the assault, how and why it happened. As it is a first offence, albeit a serious one, and he is showing remorse a good barrister will probably get him away with a suspended sentence. This means that if he keeps out of trouble for the period of the suspension, then that should be an end to the matter. He may, depending again on circumstances, be ordered to pay compensation.
It will also help in mitigations if he is in work. Please tell him to look reasonably smart when he attends court.

[eastern]

A lot does depend on the circumstances, whether he was provoked was it self defence etc. To give you an example I was hit with a bottle on the way home one night, the assailant knocked out two of my teeth and broke my nose! He got 100 hrs comm service and no fine, so it will depend a lot on the judge. As previous person said make sure you are turned out very smartly, hair clothes etc and maybe even a good character witness may help.

[shelley39]

hi. thankyou so much for the replies. your advice means alot.. he was previously provoked but not sure if he is using this in mit circs. i dont think he is he is frightened it goes against him. also he has pleaded guilty to the police but not pleading guilty until crown court. that was the advice given by his solicitor not sure why never had to go down this route ever. it started a few months ago the other guy was mouthing off to him and his mates. nothin happened then but over the months the other guy was goading him. he then saw him this night and the inevitable happened. no self defence involved. once again thanks for the comments very much appreciated..

[natho]

hi shell, just thought id let you know that i got a section18 G.B.H with intent.but had it dropped to a section20 which is G.B.H. i aint happy about it...i got a fine-1500 and put on a 6 months tagging system.. was only 20 im now 28.that was my first ever wrong doing, as well i think your family member should plead guilty in crown i did lucky show remorse it will help.

[Buenchico]

Judges are given a 'starting point' and a 'sentencing range' which (unless there are very exceptional circumstances) they're meant to stick to.

The starting point for sentencing an assault by a first time offender, causing grievous bodily harm, where the assault was not premeditated, no weapon was used and the injury was not 'particularly grave' is 24 weeks custody .

The sentencing range is from a community order (at the highest end of the scale) up to 36 weeks custody.

That, in itself means that there is at least some prospect of a non-custodial sentence. However, those guideline sentences apply to offenders convicted after a trial. An early guilty plea will skew the sentencing range towards the lower end of the range, which further increases the chance of a non-custodial sentence.

Given the present level of overcrowding in Britain's prisons, together with the 'impeccable references', it's probably most likely that a non-custodial sentence will be passed, but a short period of custody can't be completely ruled out.

Chris

[shelley39]

hi guys. thanks for the personal info experience and the law info. i have read alot on here and it all seems quite similar. his charge is def a sec 20 due to the severity of the damage which is fair do's. he knows he should not have done it. he is also def pleading guilty etc and will be smart and all the rest that has been mentioned. they are at the sol tomorrow to ask many questions etc. after speaking to other people and hearing senarios i know no one can guarantee what will happen we can only pray. his mum will be devastated if he does go down and i don't know if he will handle it too well either. that is what worries me but will just have to wait it out. i just thank god he is not one of these that goes out doing it regular and so called gets a ' kick out of it'. i would disown him... we would tackle any fine tagging or comm serv over going down. once again many thanks guys...