Clients found Not Guilty of GBH after CPS drop case.

Case study summary

Our clients, two young women, were accused of breaking the complainant's collar bone and faced a prison sentence. For one client, this meant losing her role as a carer. With careful preparation, we found the weaknesses in the case and persuaded the CPS to drop it.

Case study

Our clients were two best friends who were accused of breaking another girl's collarbone during an altercation on a night out. The girls had gone out to the local pub to celebrate Halloween and when the complainant approached them, they were said to have attacked her by throwing her to the floor, dragging her by the hair and stamping on her.

It was alleged that our clients had planned the attack and targeted the complainant, who stated that she had been bullied by one of them throughout secondary school. Our clients were charged with Causing Grievous Bodily Harm under section 20 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.

Once we had been instructed after charge, the complainant's statement and prosecution evidence was carefully analysed to look for inconsistencies that demonstrated she may not have been telling the truth about what happened. The original medical report stated that the injuries to the complainant were caused by a stamp. Our specialist lawyers challenged these findings and persuaded the expert to agree that the injury could also have been caused by a fall.

Additionally, through careful presentation of the case, we were able to provide evidence to show that our client did not have a history of bullying the complainant. Our client had an exemplary school record, supported by a reference which we obtained from the school's head teacher.

During the first day of trial, the complainant's own witness came forward to say that she had lied during her original statement and she now wanted to come to court to tell the truth. We encouraged the police to investigate this comment. Following this investigation and another review of the evidence, the prosecution had no choice but to drop the case against our clients and they were found not guilty of the offence.

Our clients can now move forward with their lives and, for one of our clients, this means she can continue to pursue her career as a carer for young children which was put on hold throughout the court proceedings.