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Sentance for public Order section 4

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Antiflow2000 | 01:39 Thu 12th Feb 2009 | Criminal
10 Answers
What is the likely sentance for this crime, baring in mind that there is full CCTV evidence, which shows me pushing, kicking out at a persons leg, and being provoked. The person didn't seem to be in fear of me either. Also the statements by the victim and witnesses are proven to be lies, which also could cause them to be prosecuted.

No relevant convictions to my name, plus mental health issues.
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Do you intend to plead guilty?

If what you say in your question is true, there is a good chance that you are not guilty.

Magistrates' sentencing guidelines provide a starting point of a low level community penalty for a first time offender pleading not guilty.
Question Author
Pleaded guilty, since I clearly pushed the person a few times, and at one point ran over the road and grabbed him by his jumper and dragged him towards the ground.

Which is contrary to the three statements which say I whacked him over the head with a pool cue and then punched him in the face 15 times, amazingly leaving him with no injuries.

The CPS turned upto court with the 3 statements but no CCTV footage so I didin't make a plea until I saw the footage. Two weeks later I get to see the footage, and like I said the statements are all lies, or exaggerations as my solicitor likes to say. However since pushing and kick out at someone is a public order offense I had to plead guilty on the advice of my solicitor. I spoke to my local CPS about it, and they say they have the statements but for some reason they can't get the CCTV footage to play, so I'm still waiting to hear from them.
In view of your guilty plea the statements and CCTV footage will not be produced in court and to a large extent are irrelevant.

However, what will happen is that prior to sentencing the facts of the matter will be presented to the court and these will be based around the evidence the police have (which will include the statements and the footage). These facts could have a material effect on your sentence. Although I�ve quoted the starting point for consideration, the offence carries a maximum of six month�s custody, so the magistrates� scope is wide.

If you disagree with the facts to such a degree that your solicitor considers it may have a material effect on the sentence, you can request what is known as a �Newton Hearing� where the evidence will have to be produced and the facts determined by the magistrates. You should consult your solicitor to establish whether this is necessary.

Question Author
No the CCTV footage will be viewed in court. That I know since the CPS and my socilitor both said it was the focus point of the case.

Then it seems you are having a Newton Hearing.
Even although this offence can technically carry a custodial sentence on conviction, it is nevertheless highly unlikely that this would be the outcome, particularly if tried in Magistrates Court as opposed to trial by jury in Crown Court.
The onus is still on the prosecution to prove the offence, anyway, and it is often the case in these "public order" matters that apportioning guilt can be easier said than done!
Offences under Section 4 of the Public Order Act are "summary" offences, paraffin, and cannot be dealt with at the Crown Court (either for trial or sentencing).
"New Judge":
Unless the law has changed significantly in recent years re Public Order offences, it was never unusual for accused persons to opt for trial by jury as opposed to being tried in a lower court.
I may, however, be "out of touch"!
I�m afraid you are out of touch, paraffin.

Section 4 and 4A Public Order Act Offences are summary offences unless they are racially or religiously aggravated (and there is no indication that this is so in Antiflow�s case). This means that magistrates cannot send the matter to the Crown Court for trial or sentence and the defendant cannot opt for trial by judge and jury.

As well as the aggravated Sections 4 and 4A Offences I mentioned above, Section 3 (Affray) and Section 2 (Violent Disorder) offences are �either way�, but unaggravated Section 4 and 4A offences are definitely summary only. Section 5 (disorderly behaviour) offences are summary only whether aggravated or not.

This has certainly been the case for at least 10 years to my certain knowledge and has probably been so since the Act was introduced in 1986.
Question Author
No I'm not having a Newton hearing, the CCTV is getting shown in court, so my solicitor says.

Probabtion is recommending a small fine, at worst a supervision order. They say they can't get me insured to do community service, so it seems that is not an option for the court.

With that said two of the witnesses were clearly trying to pervert the course of justice with their statements, so I hope the magistraites recognise that.

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Sentance for public Order section 4

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