Help, accused of assault after being attacked, what might happen next?

morehands

I am hoping this is not against the charter since i am not looking for legal advice more the general procedure that may be to come (if it is the wrong forum please move it)

Long story short, my wife was kicked in the back in a night club last night by a drunk girl trying to get passed, she turned around and told the girl what she thought of her which began some shouting from other girl, my wife then pushed her away.

The girl then started talking to some of her mates in front of us and then came back in a fairly aggressive manner threatening us to get out etc. and getting right up in my wifes face, my wife then tried to throw her drink over the girl which i half stopped, soaking a few people

so i bring my wife outside to calm down after all this but about 5 minutes later the girl comes running out at us trying to get at my wife but i kept them apart until the bouncers moved the girl away

she starts screaming look at my lip, i'm calling the gardai, she glassed me! (while stumbling backwards)

queue a member of the gardai about 5 minutes later taking her details then taking ours, what a horrible end to a night!!

anyway he mentioned he was not arresting my wife on the spot but the girl did have a cut on the inside of her lip and a chipped tooth so he would look at the CCTV footage and get back to us, he said he couldn't take a statement from any of us since we had drink taken

so my question is has this type of thing happened to anyone else before? and even despite the fact that i watched the whole thing and didnt see anything that could have caused the bleeding let alone the chip tooth, if they think they see something on the cctv footage what generally happens next in these situations?

hopefully that girl will wake up today and realise that she had a lot to do with the situation and not go making statements and demanding arrests but obviously it is a nervous wait

_Arctic_

If the drunk girl kicked your wife, she was the aggressor and it should be on the CCTV. If it can be proven that she started the incident, she wont get far with charges against you or your wife. Thats my guess

morehands

well we havent heard anything yet today, the garda said he would look at the footage which is good but in the case that she does try follow this up could that mean a court date still or would the garda tell her she was wasting her time and advise against?

i'm just wondering what the consequences for us could be in each possible event!

John5

morehands wrote: »

well we havent heard anything yet today, the garda said he would look at the footage which is good but in the case that she does try follow this up could that mean a court date still or would the garda tell her she was wasting her time and advise against?

i'm just wondering what the consequences for us could be in each possible event!

Well, firstly, if the Gardai are looking at the CCTV footage, you may be waiting a while, because they will have to assertain what happened...as you've said that your wife pushed this woman and tried to throw a drink over this woman, well then your wife retaliated which ever way you look at it, and both women could be in hot water.

If the Gardai does eventually follow this up, then it could well mean a summons for your wife and this other woman, so a court date could happen in future...you'll be waiting a while, because there are so many cases in the system, that you could be waiting for at least a year to see if she will be summoned.

You can put your side of the story to the Gardai all you want, but they'll judge the footage when it all dies down, a future summons could be pending, as i say you're talking at least a year or so to recieve it. Then again, she may not be summoned, but it will be a worrrying wait.

morehands

Sounds like fun all right! the garda gave us his name and number so i guess i'll give him a call some time this week and see if he has any other information for us

also, if the other girl does not follow up and make a statement will the gardai take this any further?

John5

morehands wrote: »

Sounds like fun all right! the garda gave us his name and number so i guess i'll give him a call some time this week and see if he has any other information for us

also, if the other girl does not follow up and make a statement will the gardai take this any further?

It all depends, it really does...even if the Gardai tells you that everything is going to be allright, for all you know it could still result in a summons for your wife. As i say, when both parties (your wife and this other woman) are away from this situation, the Gardai will still have time to look at this in the cold light of day on cctv, without both sides of the story in their ear.

If this does get to court, if this is your wife's first offence..then the judge has a choice of what to do with this situation...

...then, i'm guessing your wife and this other woman may recieve the Probation Act (a warning), possible fine, or even community service..then again things may be worse with a conviction possible, who knows?

Tom Young

Forum charter - No legal advice. Get a solicitor and talk with them.

morehands

Tom Young wrote: »

Forum charter - No legal advice. Get a solicitor and talk with them.

was pretty sure i wasn't looking for legal advice as such since i just want to know the general procedure of what might happen and not what i should do to avoid prosecution etc. not sure if that is the intention of the rule

as for what might happen next i just wanted to know if it was dependant on the gardai or the other girl who called them etc

John5

morehands wrote: »

also, if the other girl does not follow up and make a statement will the gardai take this any further?

This girl and your wife may both be summoned over this, it's out of both of their control. We're talking assault involving two people, there's a good chance the Gardai will take this further, whatever they may tell you.

morehands

John5 wrote: »

This girl and your wife may both be summoned over this, it's out of both of their control. We're talking assault involving two people, there's a good chance the Gardai will take this further, whatever they may tell you.

would they not have looked to take statements from the two parties then? do these things go to court without either side making a statement especially since she called the gardai? not sure the garda would be able to see much on the CCTV inside a nightclub either

John5

morehands wrote: »

would they not have looked to take statements from the two parties then? do these things go to court without either side making a statement especially since she called the gardai? not sure the garda would be able to see much on the CCTV inside a nightclub either

Don't forget a Gardai can absolutely summon your wife and this other woman without making any actual arrests, or taking any statements. You say they took your details, so its likely. The people involved in this had drink taken, so you do not know what the Gardai will have seen on the cctv.

poss

John5 wrote: »

Don't forget a Gardai can absolutely summon your wife and this other woman without making any actual arrests, or taking any statements. You say they took your details, so its likely. The people involved in this had drink taken, so you do not know what the Gardai will have seen on the cctv.

That's correct, in fact any Gardai can summons you, not only the Gardai who happened to be there.