Client Charged with Child Neglect - Avoids Prison

Case study summary

Our firm was approached by a single mother who had been charged with being drunk and in charge of her child. She was scared of what this meant in relation to her ability to care for her children. We prepared mitigation and represented her at court, ensuring she avoided prison.

Case study

Following a difficult period in her life, our client was accused of drinking heavily at a local pub, and while her young child was present. The child was noticed by other guests at the pub wandering around and asking for food.

Our client came to us after she had been interviewed by police and after she had answered no comment to all questions the police asked her. She explained that she had been sober for many years after struggling with alcohol dependency and that on the day in question she was struggling with her mental health and relapsed.

Since the day of her arrest, our client had taken it upon herself to become sober again and reached out to various support groups in her local area.

We prepared full mitigation and arranged for letters and material to be provided from these support groups which evidenced the hard work that she was doing to get her life back on track.

Before the date of her sentencing, the court ordered the probation services to prepare a Pre-Sentence Report. We advised her on the purpose of this report and on the process that would be carried out. After the report was completed, we discussed it further with our client and represented her at her sentencing hearing where she received a low fine and a community order.

With the conclusion of this case our client was able to return to her home-life and continue looking after her children as she had been for years before.