Acquittal on s18 GBH charge at Guildford Crown Court

Another success for the MPR defence team with the acquittal of our client on charges of Grievous Bodily Harm with intent.

Our client is alleged to have stabbed the victim in a frenzied attack during an argument over a girl. Our client maintained a not guilty plea and it became evident to our solicitors that the case was not quite what it appeared at first glance.

After considering our client’s version of events and the forensic evidence and eyewitness evidence, we were able to establish major evidential problems in the Crown’s case. It also came to light via pro-active defence work that one of the eyewitnesses had subsequently been a victim at the hands of the alleged victim in this case. We immediately alerted the police officer in the case to make relevant enquiries as this could potentially have assisted our client’s case and undermined the Prosecution’s case. We were able to discredit the evidence of the main eyewitness as it was becoming more obvious that she was hiding the truth.

Prior to our client’s trial, we also made very detailed written representations to the CPS requesting them to reconsider their views in this case as we felt it was not in the public interest to continue with the Prosecution. They disregarded our representations and even the police officer in the case and the Court were taken aback by the prosecutor’s stance in this case. In the end, following 3 days of evidence at trial, a jury acquitted our client within just a few hours of being told by the trial judge to deliberate.

Our client was awarded a defence costs order and all his legal aid contributions will now be refunded by the Legal Services Commission. In additional we were able to secure the refund of all his travel expenses in going to court over the course of his proceedings.