I have been charged under section 39 of beating my wife and pushing my son of 15 in the face i attended court last week and has been put back to the 20-9-10 due to the defence papers not arriving in court on time i intend to plead guilty to both charges

[tazzboy]

but am now having a change of heart having seen my sons statement(i did not want to get my son into court to go through all the questioning) what can i expect to get as a maximum sentence ive tried to speak with my solicitor with out much joy.

[Bobbisox]

I wish you well ;-0)

[Count-A-Strong]

Make your mind up Bobbi ;-)

[New Judge]

The guideline “starting point” for Section 39 (Common Assault) is a fine or a discharge. However, as soon as any aggravating features are present a community order will be considered.

As you describe it, this incident took place in a domestic setting (and is thus seen as “domestic violence) and it took place in the presence of (and indeed one of the victims was) a child, albeit 15 years old. These factors certainly aggravate the offence considerably.

In your favour is the fact that the assault was not sustained, but consisted only of a single blow or shove to each victim. Additionally, a guilty plea will reduce any sentence that may be imposed.

You really do need a solicitor to put the matter to the court on your behalf. In view of your previous good character the court may be persuaded to deal with the matter by way of a Conditional Discharge. However, if they feel there may be underlying problems which may need the intervention of the probation service they will order a pre-sentence report and you will have to be interviewed by the probation service before you are sentenced.

If you plead guilty neither your son nor your wife will need to attend court and their statements will be summarised by the prosecution.

Hope that helps.

[Bobbisox]

I have made my mind up not to judge this guy unfairly Count, I have said what I think about his behaviour but as I don't know the full story, it would be wrong of me to say hurtful things, I can't cast everyone in the same mould as my first husband, I will always disagree with wife-beating and the reverse.

[tazzboy]

Thank you bobbiesox i understand were you are coming from, i dont make a habit of doing this but according to my sons statement which im sure he was helped by the police im a wife beater and do this all the time which is not true.

[Bobbisox]

he's only 15 and is protecting his Mother which would be quite normal tazz

[anneasquith]

why would your son make up stories ? do you believe the police encouraged him to lie ?

[Count-A-Strong]

Ah I see Bobbi, so 'personally, I hope they throw the book at you' wasn't mean to be hurtful?

[New Judge]

And having just read Eddies post there are a couple of things that I should add:

A fine and a bind over is not a suitable disposal. You may be fined (though I doubt it) but a bind over is unlikely to be used in a case of domestic violence. Its purpose is to punish but to prevent further breaches of the peace and if the bench considers there is a likelihood that you may reoffend they will order probation intervention.

If you are sentenced to unpaid work 40 hours is the minimum that can be awarded (after any discount).

[New Judge]

Sorry, rwegarding a bind over,should read "...its purpose is NOT to punish..."

[jno]

Bobbi stated her personal opinion of wife-beating, which is perfectly reasonable given her experience. Tazzboy has since offered evidence that he is not a wife-beater apart from one isolated incident. Fair enough.

[Bobbisox]

if he did and is found guilty...then yes Count, he will deserve it, but if there are 'lies' in there and he feels he is being unfairly treated, then I have to wish him well and one would hope justice will out in the end,
if. for instance, he gets charged for beating his wife, then , I would say, your own fault, you deserve all you get!

[Count-A-Strong]

Ah, right.

[tazzboy]

anneasquith, i did not say he made up stories what i said was he has put things that are untrue and may have been lead by the officers in question?

[Jemisa]

If a man hits a woman for the first time (wife - girlfriend ect) well then its HIS fault.
If a man hits a woman for the second time - ditto - -- its her fault.

(for staying with him)

jem.

[anneasquith]

tazz, sorry get your point, but why would he say untrue things in his statement ? if you dont wish to give anymore details ,i respect that.

[tazzboy]

anneasquith thats fine what else do you want to know?

[anneasquith]

nothing more tazz .

[tazzboy]

Thanks for all your comments youve all been a help one way or the other many thanks