Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2006]JRC088

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

23^rd June 2006

The Attorney General

-v-

Beverley Dawn Catney

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, on guilty pleas to:

Age:  37.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

Defendant was a guest at a Christmas function arranged by a company.  She drank an excessive amount of alcohol at lunch and whilst subsequently visiting two pubs.  There was an altercation in Chambers Public House between the Defendant and one of the women in the group which resulted in the Defendant throwing a bottle at her.  The bottle missed its target and hit the back of the head of an innocent bystander, causing a 2 cm. cut which required gluing at Accident and Emergency Department.  The Defendant was so intoxicated she later claimed she had no recollection of throwing the bottle.

Details of Mitigation:

Extremely difficult background.  Accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty.  Remorse.  Had reduced alcoholic intake significantly since the offence.  Extensive references handed to the Court deponing to the Defendant's achievements at work and the high regard in which she was held by her work colleagues.  Unlikely to re-offend.

Previous Convictions:

Three convictions for 4 offences between 1985 and 1992.

Conclusions:

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Mrs. S. Sharpe, Crown Advocate.

Advocate S. E. Fitz for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE BAILIFF:

1.        Throwing a bottle in a crowded public house is a very dangerous thing to do, but for good fortune, the perfectly innocent victim of this assault could have lost an eye or suffered some other serious injury.  It is merely good fortune that she did not.  The Crown Advocate is quite right to remind us that in general offences of this kind will be met with a custodial sentence.

2.        Having said that we think there are exceptional circumstances in this case and they have been outlined very fully by your counsel.  You are 37, you have been of good character during the whole of your life, the reports tell us that you are at a low risk of re-offending, you have a promising career ahead of you and the reports indicate that your character in general has been unblemished until this time.

3.        We are persuaded that the effect of a sentence of imprisonment, in your case, would be disproportionate to the offence which you committed which we are satisfied was out of character.  We think that some kind of direct apology to the victim is due and we would ask the Probation Officer to give some consideration as to whether this is an appropriate case for the opportunity of such an apology to be given.  At the very least it seems to us that a letter should be written if the defendant genuinely feels regret which we accept that you do.

4.        The sentence of the Court is that you should perform community service.  We think you must be punished for the offence you have committed and we are going to order you to do 210 hours' community service on Count 1, which is the equivalent to a sentence of 15 months' imprisonment; and 50 hours' community service, concurrent on Count 2 which is equivalent to 1 month's imprisonment.  The sentence of the Court is that you perform 210 hours' of community service to the satisfaction of the Community Service Organiser and we hope very much that you will control your drinking and realise what terrible things can go wrong if you allow yourself to get into the condition which you did on that night.

No Authorities