Millennium Chambers is pleased to report a successful outcome secured by Tess McCarthy, Pupil Barrister, following a trial listed at Staines Magistrates’ Court in which the prosecution ultimately offered no evidence against the defendant.
The defendant faced two allegations of harassment said to arise from communications in the form of hand-posted letters addressed to her former husband and his partner.
Before the commencement of the trial, Ms McCarthy made an application to dismiss the charges. It was submitted that the counts had been drafted in such a way that one charge was incapable of amounting to a course of conduct for the purposes of the offence, while the second was brought outside the statutory time limit prescribed by section 127 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980.
In response, the prosecution sought permission to amend the charges out of time, arguing that the proposed amendments would relate to the same alleged wrongdoing and would not cause prejudice to the defendant.
Ms McCarthy opposed the application, submitting that allowing such amendments would not be in the interests of justice. She argued that public confidence in the criminal justice system would be undermined if procedural rules and statutory provisions were effectively bypassed in circumstances where fundamental case management failures had occurred.
The bench accepted the defence submissions and refused the prosecution’s application to amend the charges. In light of that ruling, the Crown offered no evidence and the defendant was formally acquitted.
Ms McCarthy was instructed by Emily Lodda of Darton Law.
This case highlights the importance of careful scrutiny of charging decisions and the proper application of statutory time limits in criminal proceedings.
