Drunk in Charge of A Child – No Further Action

Case study summary

Our client was a teacher who was devastated after she was arrested for being drunk in charge of her 6-month-old child. We persuaded the police that it was not in anyone’s interest for this case to go any further, and the case was dropped immediately.

Case study

We were instructed to represent a teacher, who was shocked after she was arrested for being drunk in charge of her child. She was a dedicated professional who had never been in trouble with the police beofre. If she was charged with this offence, her career would be at risk and social services would have likely become involved with the family.

Our client had been for a meal with her extended family in Manchester. Tensions had run high, and our client accepted that she had too much to drink and had become emotional. She was walking to get a taxi with her partner and child after the meal when she was arrested for being drunk in charge of a child.

After she was arrested, our specialist criminal lawyers attended the police station to represent her. We assessed the situation and it was clear that our client had a defence. Even if the police could prove that she was as drunk, her partner was present with her and the police accepted that he was not drunk. Clearly, her partner was in charge of the child and that was sufficient.

Our lawyers negotiated with the police and were able to bring them on board. They had a lot of sympathy for our client and by having an open discussion with them, they quickly accepted that this case should not go any further.

The police agreed to drop the case and our client was released from the police station. She was very grateful to return home to her child and her livelihood is no longer at risk.