It’s always been lawful to strike first in appropriate circumstances, after all, the Bobbies do it all the time. Unfortunately they’re not always that understanding when a member of the public does it.
The Client had it all to lose . He was a well renowned security consultant whom had unfortunately to defend himself when confronted whilst on duty by 2 individuals. William Southcott Solicitor was the trial advocate and following cross examination of the Crowns witness’ a successful half time submission of no case to answer was made, resulting in complete exoneration for Ashcotts Client.
The worrying thing about the case was that it should never have been brought in the first place. It was clear both the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had unfairly targeted our Client because of his occupation and combat qualifications. What they refused to accept was that those skills actually mean an individual is less likely to be involved in violence than someone without such training. The only reason this incident reached the level it did was because of the deplorable and aggressive behaviour of the Crown Witnesses which was conveniently ignored by the Prosecuting Authorities throughout the case.
It was pleasing however that the lay bench of Magistrates clearly listened to the submission and had assessed the case for what it was – an ill conceived prosecution. This was in stark contrast to an earlier hearing before the District Judge when the Court had implicitly criticised Ashcott Solicitors for advising a Not Guilty plea should be entered and that the charge was an unjust one which would be fought.
Will Southcott outlined ‘The bottom line is people are entitled to defend themselves, and if your skills mean you get your punch in first then thats tough on the aggressor. The fact these 2 idiots ended up hospitalised was their own fault. They shouldn’t then be mollycoddled by the police and the CPS particularly at the expense of our Clients rights. I’m pleased Justice was done in the end though.’
