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Gbh

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Ohh dear...

My mother has been arrested on the charges of GBH. I don't really know how all the legal stuff works and the police have been really vague with us.

Basically, she was arrested on Thursday night/early hours of Friday morning and appeared in court on Saturday morning which intially confused me as I thought it took ages to go to court, but then the police called and asked about a bail address or something so I then realised it was just to work out if she was allowed out until the actual court date/trial...am I right? Anyway, she wasn't allowed out and is now on remand (is that the right term?!) where she's being kept in til the court date on the 13th June.
So is the 13th when they find her guilty or not guilty? Does it usually take more than a day? When will she be sentenced? And what will she get? (taking into account she's been in trouble before)


I know this is a bit of a random post, I'm just after a little more understanding of these kind of situations.

Ta

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Do you know whether she is charged with GBH with intent or not because one is more severe than the other and so the consequence may be harsher depending on which it is?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hi Star, sorry to hear about the situation

    One way you could get an overview of how the system will work is to ask our legal advisors on askTheSite. If you explain what's happening with your Mum they should be able to help you understand what will happen next.

    You can ask a question here -

    http://www.thesite.org/community/askthesite/askaquestion
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm really sorry to hear about your situation star. First things first, it is vitally important that your mother seeks legal advice, although if she is on remand she will probably already have had that.

    What will happen next, very simply, is this.

    There will be a hearing in the Magsitrates Court which, given the seriousness of the offence, will simply be administrative. This will pass the case to the Crown Court for it to be dealt with there. There is sometimes an opportunity to request bail at this hearing.

    Once the case has passed to the Crown Court, a plea and case management hearing (PCMH) will be arranged. This can take several weeks. This is when your mum's solicitor will instruct a barrister to represent her at court.

    If your mum is guilty, she can plead guilty at this PCMH. She will then usually be referred for pre-sentence reports and she will then be sentenced at a later hearing, probably about a month later. If she pleads guilty at the PCMH she will be treated as having pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and will get 1/3 off her sentence.

    If your mum is not guilty a date will be set for trial at the PCMH. A trial will be held, this can be often a couple of months after the PCMH. A trial, in front of jury, will be held and the jury will decide if she is guilty.

    Most solicitors will advise her against pleading guilty in the Magistrates Court. It doesn't make it go any quicker and by pleading guilty she will lose the extra rights she has as a remand prisoner.

    Once the case is at the Crown Court she can apply for bail at any time. In order to be kept on remand the prosecution have to show that she is either a) a danger to herself or b) a danger to the public or likely to commit further offences whilst on bail. If she has a long history of criminal offending she is less likely to get bail.

    Assuming she is guilty and pleads guilty at the PCMH, she will probably be sentenced in about 1-2 months. If she doesn't plead guilty this could drag on and on and on- professionally, I've seen people wait six months for a trial date before.
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