James Lofthouse defended GO, a 24-year-old man who was initially charged with s18 wounding with intent, following a drunken attack in which he repeatedly struck his partner with a broken champagne flute, causing multiple slash and puncture wounds. At the PTPH, James persuaded the CPS to accept a plea to s20 wounding. The resident judge reluctantly agreed to adjourn for a PSR but noted that, in his view, this was a Category 1 case with a starting point of 3 years. James drafted a 12 page written Note in Mitigation in which he lengthily addressed the categorisation and referred to 4 recent authorities.
In mitigation, the sentencing judge accepted James’s submissions that this was a Category 2 case and passed a suspended sentence order of just 15 months imprisonment as well as declining to order the unpaid work recommended by the PSR and refusing to order any contribution to CPS costs.
James was instructed by Theresa Gerald of ITN Solicitors