Caution for workman charged with possession of a weapon

Case study summary

Our client was a 21-year-old site manager charged with possession of a lock knife. After our expert lawyers highlighted he had been charged with the wrong offence, the case returned to the police. The court prosecution was dropped, he received a caution, and avoided a conviction.

Case study

Our client had been charged with possession of an offensive weapon during a search in custody for a separate matter. Having been arrested for drink driving, our client was found to have a lock knife attached to his belt.

These were two serious allegations which would impact his livelihood as a building site manager. He used the knife every day at work but, on this occasion, had been driving back from the pub and had no defence for having it with him. Knowing what was at stake, he contacted our expert lawyers to help him understand and prepare his defence.

We began a review of the case immediately. Whilst our client knew he was pleading guilty to drink driving, there were many uncertainties regarding his weapon charge. With three weeks to prepare for court, we worked swiftly to obtain glowing character references which allowed the court to see him as the young, hard-working man that he is.

Through our careful analysis of the evidence, our expert lawyers identified that he had been charged incorrectly based on the knife he had. We immediately brought this to the attention of the judge and prosecution at our client's first court hearing. Our in-depth explanation of the law prompted the case to be returned to the police for reconsideration. After a short review, and thanks to our lawyers' careful submissions, the police decided this should be dealt with by a caution and not at court.

We were able to pass on the good news and our client received the formal caution a few days later. He and his family were grateful that we had changed the outcome of this case so quickly. Our client is now able to continue his work knowing that, despite his disqualification from driving, he did not have a conviction which could have affected his career.