On Bail for Assault Section 20

[sen1603]

I am currently on bail for assault section 20 after i was involved in a drunken fight in a city centre.a stranger was being set upon by two men and i ran over and punched one on the chin to get them to stop. the guy i hit was bleeding from the mouth. i left the scene and 6 months later i had a knock from the police who arrested me and interviewed me.

As the witness and guy i was trying to help cant be found it is my word against the guy i hit and his friend who are saying i attacked them for no reason. I am planning to admit to hitting him when i answer my bail (thursday) and i am wondering what will be my likely punishment???
this is my first offence and since the incident happened i have stopped drinking as i had a problem with alchohol, my first child been born and i was due to start my career in the military on 27th january. as all of this has come about i have to hold off starting my job as a soldier until its been through the courts.

would a judge be lenient on me as
a)im going in th army and a harsh sentence would affect my career
b)i now have a child
c)have tried to turn my life around by stopping drinking and joining the army
d)realise what i did was stupid and that i cannot act as vigilante no matter what the circumstances??

any help appreciated and sorry for the long winded post!!!

[exmetpolice]

a)im going in th army and a harsh sentence would affect my career - NO
b)i now have a child -- NO
c)have tried to turn my life around by stopping drinking and joining the army - NO
d)realise what i did was stupid and that i cannot act as vigilante no matter what the circumstances?? - POSSIBLY IF YOU PLAY ON REMORSE, ALTHOUGH IT WON'T STOP YOU RECEIVING A MANDATORY CUSTODIAL SENTENCE. You may also find disciplinary action in the army. You MUST have a good solicitor and barrister.

[Sasha-2008]

Was there no CCTV for the city centre??

[Vesper99]

See a solicitor. You can speak to the duty solicitor free at court.

If what you say is true, you may have a defence. It is more difficult if you were drunk at the time: have you admitted this in your statement?

There are good mitigating factors in any event, especially in you changed circumstances.

[sen1603]

i have admitted in my statement that i was drunk and also that i had a problem with alchohol. i have co-operated fully throughout. would they really send me to prison for a mistake like this, it was not my intention to injure him as i did only to get him to stop attacking another person.

There was no CCTV in the area where the incident happened. Are legal aid solicitors good and how do i find one?

[exmetpolice]

Sorry, there are mitigating circumstances, but no legal defence in this case.

A mandatory sentence of 12-18 months is likely. Suspended if VERY lucky and you play off the mitigating circumstances and remorse VERY well. DO NOT rely on the duty solicitor.

No court will accept that you intended him NO harm if you hit him. Even if not intentional it was reckless. Therefore you have completed the offence of GBH im sorry to say.

You are MORE than likely to get a custodial sentence. In this case, restraining him if safe would have been proportionate, hitting is not. Im sorry to have to give you the bad news. I would advise getting a solicitor and barrister or solicitor advocate ASAP.

[PWA]

Show remorse.
Make sure the truth is known.

[alecmax689]

Exmet, you go on about a mandatory 12-18 month custodial sentence, surely then it cannot be suspended as you then suggest?

From the facts it seems unlikely that you would be able to raise a defence of 'self defence' which can be applied to the defence of another. You unfortunately have no evidence to prove this. Additionally the force you use in defence must be reasonable and be no more severe than absolutely necessary. Given that you cannot establish the circumstances that the person you hit was involved with, you seem out on a limb here. It is unfortunate for this to be the case. I would see a solicitor.