abh

[fishwick]

my brother is in magistrates court soon for abh, he and his girlfiend went out drinking one night they had been arguing all night prior to the assault when he came home he assaulted her, they have been together for three years and nothing like this has ever happened before he has no previous convictions what will happen

[Rtaxron]

Probably his g/f will leave him if she has any sense, but doubt it.

[Buenchico]

The magistrates' court can impose a prison sentence of up to 6 months. Or they can refer the case to the Crown Court, where the maximum penalty is 5 years imprisonment (plus a �5000 fine).

In practice, unless there are exceptional circumstances (e.g.a particularly sustained attack), a first offence of ABH hardly ever results in a custodial sentence.

Based upon reading loads of newspaper reports (and a bit of freelance court reporting myself) my guess would be something like a �200 fine + �60 costs + �15 victim surcharge + 200 hours unpaid work.

Chris