Jersey Unreported Judgments

Inferior Number Sentencing - grave and criminal assault - breach of the peace by fighting.

[2016]JRC093

Royal Court

(Samedi)

6 May 2016

Before     :

T. J. Le Cocq, Esq., Deputy Bailiff, and Jurats Liston and Sparrow

The Attorney General

-v-

Terri Ann Elizabeth Allen

Kirsty Elizabeth Buchanan

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

Terri Ann Elizabeth Allen

1 count of:

Grave and criminal assault (Count 1).

Age:  21 but 20 at the time of the offending.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

On 1^st August, 2015, the victim approached a group of youths whilst at the public gardens at the top of Mount Bingham.  The victim asked the group for a tin of beer and an argument ensued.  Buchanan punched the victim once in the chest and then fought with the victim whilst they were both on the floor (Count 2).  Allen approached the victim and punched her once to the nose, she then moved away from the fight.  Allen then picked up a bottle of wine, returned to the fight and struck the victim over the side of the head with the bottle (Count 1).  Allen entered a guilty plea on the basis that her role in the joint enterprise grave and criminal assault involved her punching the victim once to the face and then striking her over the head with the bottle of wine.  Allen accepted responsibility for all of the injuries suffered by the victim as a result of this assault. 

The victim suffered a fractured cheek bone which necessitated surgery and the insertion of a metal plate into her face. 

Details of Mitigation:

Youth, remorse, guilty plea, many references. 

Previous Convictions:

None. 

Conclusions:

Count 1:

18 months' imprisonment.

Compensation Order sought in the sum of £5,000 to be paid to the victim. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Count 1:

240 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 18 months' imprisonment together with a 3 month Probation Order.

Compensation Order made in the sum of £2,400 to be paid to the victim within 18 months or 3 months' imprisonment in default. 

Kirsty Elizabeth Buchanan

1 count of:

Breach of the peace (Count 2).

Age:  20.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

See Allen above. 

Details of Mitigation:

Youth, remorse, guilty plea and many references. 

Previous Convictions:

14 previous convictions for 49 offences including assault and public order offences. 

Conclusions:

Count 2:

120 hours' Community Service Order, equivalent to 6 months' imprisonment.

Compensation Order sought in the sum of £500 to be paid to the victim. 

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Count 2:

£500 fine or 6 months' imprisonment in default, to be paid within 6 months.

D. J. Hopwood, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate E. L. Burns for Allen.

Advocate A. M. Harrison for Buchanan.

JUDGMENT

THE DEPUTY BAILIFF:

1.        Allen, you are to be sentenced on Indictment containing one count of grave and criminal assault.  Buchanan, you are to be sentenced for committing a breach of the peace by fighting.  Both of these offences arose out of the same incident and involved the same victim but they are different in nature.  Allen took part in an assault in concert with others and her actions included striking the victim over the head with a bottle.  Buchanan was involved in a fight.  She struck one blow to the victim and wrestled with her. 

2.        We do not need to go into the detail of exactly what happened.  You both fall to be sentenced on the facts set out in your respective bases of pleas which the Crown has accepted as do we.  You also both fall to be dealt with as though the Criminal Justice (Young Offenders)(Jersey) Law 1994 applies to you.  Buchanan, because it does apply to you, you are 20 years of age, and Allen because you were 20 at the time of the offence. 

3.        Buchanan, we deal firstly with you.  Your culpability lies in the punch that you gave to the victim and then wrestling with her.  You bear some responsibility for the way the incident unfolded.  Your record is not a good one, although we note that your most recent conviction for violence was in 2011.  You were, at that time, under the age of 18.  There are signs that we see that you are pulling yourself together.  You have the benefit of your guilty plea and we have read, with care, the letters written on your behalf and of course, we take full cognisance of the contents of the social enquiry report.  You appear to have taken responsibility eventually for your actions. 

4.        We think that it is appropriate to deal with you by way of a fine and you are fined £500 with a custodial alternative of 6 months.  That is to be paid within the 6 month period which I think accords with your ability to pay it as explained by your counsel. 

5.        Allen, you participated in a very unpleasant attack.  You did so as part of a group on an outnumbered victim who sustained a number of painful injuries including a facial fracture.  We have noted the effect of this attack on her and you played a significant role when you used a wine bottle and struck her over the head.  That was a deliberate act in the sense that you went and found the bottle. You, and indeed your victim, were extremely fortunate that the injury caused was not much more serious.  When people pick up bottles they lose any control over the consequences and the injuries that may be caused.  They could have been life-threatening. 

6.        We have read the statement of the victim and we can well understand her anxiety and the effects that the assault had on her.  Clearly alcohol was a factor and that, as the Court has said on many occasions in the past, is an aggravating factor.  Your comments after the event, as referred to by the Crown, do not in any way paint you in a good light. 

7.        However, you have much to call upon by way of mitigation.  You have no previous convictions and the many letters written on your behalf paint a very different picture of you than your actions have suggested.  You have demonstrated remorse and we accept that that remorse is genuine. 

8.        The Court's policy, often stated, is clear.  Drink-fuelled violence will normally attract a custodial sentence.  The Young Offenders Law, to which we have regard, requires us to impose a custodial sentence only if we are satisfied that there is no other way of dealing with you appropriately.  We note amongst all of the other matters of mitigation that have been put forward on your behalf, the effect that your actions have already had on your career prospects, the prejudice of your vocational choice, and the change in your attitude to alcohol and the company that you keep.  In our view those matters and the matters disclosed in the social enquiry report can allow us, exceptionally, to deal with this other than by custodial means. 

9.        We impose a 3 month Probation Order.  You will carry out 240 hours' Community Service Order, which is the direct equivalent to 18 months' in custody.

10.      You will pay compensation to your victim in the sum of £2,400, which is the guideline sum in connection with the facial fracture that she sustained during the course of the general assault, and you will pay that within 18 months with a 3 month custodial sentence in default in the event that that is not paid. 

11.      We make no other order. 

Authorities

Criminal Justice (Young Offenders)(Jersey) Law 1994.

Harrison-v-AG [2004] JLR 111

AG-v-Cameron [2008] JLR N44.

AG-v-Conway [2008] JRC 060.

AG-v-Herve [2011] JRC 086.

AG-v-Hogg [2011] JRC 223.

AG-v-Ewens, Lister and Weller [2015] JRC 127.

Licenced Premises (Exclusion of Certain Persons) (Jersey) Law 1998.

Criminal Justice (Compensation Orders) (Jersey) Law 1994.

UK Magistrates Court Sentencing Guidelines (Compensation).

Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012.