Prosecution application for Criminal Behaviour Order dismissed
Sonn Macmillan Walker acted for a client who pleaded guilty to violent disorder following a street fight involving a large number of people, some using weapons.
Our client committed this offence in breach of an existing Criminal Behaviour order. He was said to be involved with a gang whose members found an opposing gang member within their territory and who inflicted serious violence upon him as punishment for his ‘trespass’.
Our client was sentence to a period of imprisonment. The prosecution sought Criminal Behaviour Orders against all defendants with the aim of preventing them from associating with each other and of being within two London Boroughs. However the prosecution failed to follow the correct procedure in making the application. Furthermore they did not properly review the applications so that it was only at Court that the error became apparent to them, at which point they sought an adjournment to put matters right. We identified a case from the Court of Appeal that ruled that the application had to be correctly made and that adjourning the application for several months from conviction was a course of action to be taken in only exceptional circumstances.
While the judge identified that the prosecution application might well have merit if properly made he refused to allow further time and the application for a Criminal Behaviour Order was dimissed.
Amy Cox was the solicitor and Tim Walker was our client’s advocate.
