Sentance

[Mandimoo69]

Hi, my 18 year old son was arrested last year(November) for affray, I'm not excusing it but at the time he was being seen by Health in Mind and had been diagnosed as suffering with depression and anxiety.He was released without charge on bail until February when he was told that the cps had decieded to prosecute, following a hearing at a magistrates court it was deemed the case needed to go to crown court, he has pled guilty, no one following the incident required medical attention although the victim did suffer scratches and bruises, prior to this he has never been arrested before, he has excellent character references, he has now turned his live around and is working full time, two other people who both have previous convictions are also being sentenced that day, it is alleged that one of these kicked the victim in the head and it was caught on cctv, when we went to see the probation officer for pre sentence report she outlined all the possible outcomes, one of which is an immediate custodial sentence, has anyone any experience of this and know what the chances are of this, thanks in advance.

First offence. Early guilty plea. I reckon suspended sentence

I agree with babybarrister. I'm not in the legal profession but spend most of my working life in mags & crown court.

He might get a suspended sentence. Best chance is for his lawyer to lay it on v thick in mitigation about how he has turned his life around, is willing to do unpaid work etc and how a prison sentence would throw his positive steps off track. He does need a good lawyer.

Did they not give an indication of sentence when he pleaded guilty? I assume probation have assessed him for unpaid work / community order? If so, that's often a good sign.

It also depends on which magistrates he gets and how they feel on the day, which is pretty much the luck of the draw unfortunately.

With respect Finney, the case has moved to crown court so a sole judge or recorder will determine sentencing. And magistrates work within a sentencing guideline, so "how they feel on the day" is never a part of how sentencing is arrived at. Furthermore with Probation input, where they have seen, interviewed and discussed both the incident and the defendants personal circumstances, Probation will aid the court by recommending sentencing, which in this case will be before a crown court judge.

Judges are skilled sentancers who also follow the guidelines or will give reasons if they come away from the guidelines.

OP I wish you well with your son.

Sorry Mature, missed the fact he was in crown, not mags. In which case, I agree with you.

Hi Op, i work for the police, working with cps and mags/crown court. I think the most likely outcome would be a suspended sentence with a long suspension term (2 years possibly). Certainly our judges seem to be very keen on sus sentences at the moment as they seem quite effective at keeping low level offenders on the straight and narrow. However, that's only my view and i am not a judge or barrister

I second getting a good advocate to mitigate.

babybarrister might they tag him? My eldest stepson got into a fight in town last year, first offence, pled guilty to both assault and affray.

Admittedly he didn't go to crown it stayed at magistrates but he ended up with a fine and a 3-month tag.

Interesting and makes sense, thanks.

I know the other bloke was hurt but it was more of a general scuffle with punches thrown on all sides. DSS was so mortified and ashamed afterwards that he went straight for the guilty plea, we wondered if his attitude might have swayed them as well.