Section 3 Or 4 assault?

gbgmickey

Hi Guys,So a Friend of Mine was involved in an Fight with His Girlfriends Ex recently and He ended up punching Him(the Ex)which in turn resulted in this Guy falling backwards fracturing His Skull, Im just wondering what section of assault will this be, Section 3 Or 4?
My Friend Has Been Arrested and a file prepared for the dpp whatever that means, and the victim has made a full recovery.

dudara

Moved to Legal Discussion, hope that's the right forum.

dudara

Peregrinus

Skull fracture can be fatal and so carries a "substantial risk of death"; I'd expect a s.4 charge.

The "serious harm" charge in s.4 is generally regarded as covering the same ground as the old "greivous bodily harm" charge under the 1861 Act. A fractured skull was considered g.b.h. under that regime (and still is by the CPS in England and Wales).

Lawyer time, I think.

gbgmickey

Peregrinus wrote: »

Skull fracture can be fatal and so carries a "substantial risk of death"; I'd expect a s.4 charge.

The "serious harm" charge in s.4 is generally regarded as covering the same ground as the old "greivous bodily harm" charge under the 1861 Act. A fractured skull was considered g.b.h. under that regime (and still is by the CPS in England and Wales).

Lawyer time, I think.

Is there a minimum Sentence the Judge has to give for a Serious Harm assault?

Thank You in advance:)

Peregrinus

There's no legal minimum. I do remember a case a few years ago in which the Court of Criminal Appeal discussed the range of sentences that would be appropriate, from a low of (I think) 2 years for the least serious cases up to 12 or 15 years for offences at the top end, and life in a few cases. But these are just indicative guidelines, and they would be discounted for factors like an early guilty plea, extenuating circumstances, etc. Your friends should talk to his solicitor and in due course his barrister about the sentence he might be looking at, if convicted, on the facts and in the circumstances of his case.

It's also possible that, if charged with the s.4 offence, he might end up being convicted of the s.3 offence, in which case he is looking at a significantly lighter sentence.

4ensic15

Assuming this was an argument which turned nasty, a major factor in these type of cases is an offer of or the payment of compensation. The attitude of the victim is another.
The whole scenario will have to be carefully reviewed after the book of evidence is served. In some cases a deal can be done with the prosecution to get the lesser charge and in others it is not possible. A solicitor experienced in criminal work should be consulted immediately for advice.

nuac

Mod
As already advised above, solicitor time for your friend
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