Section 18 GBH Dropped to Lesser Charge Portsmouth Crown Court

James O’Donnell represented a defendant who faced a charge of section 18 causing grievous bodily harm with intent. The defendant was involved in a fight with another man inside a pub. During the fight, he was said to have bitten the man’s face, causing a serious injury.

The defence argued at trial that our client accepted maliciously wounding the male but it was not our clients intention to cause very serious harm.  After our arguments were presented and heard the jury acquitted our client of Section 18 grievous bodily harm on this basis. 

The judge however imposed a suspended sentence order for a lesser offence of section 20 grievous bodily harm to which he had plead guilty to at an earlier stage. 

Having expert advice from an experienced defence team was crucial in this case in order to achieve the best possible outcome. Our team of lawyers specialise in cases involving very serious violence and have a proven track record of favourable results for these type of cases.