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My son and his ex girlfriend recently had an altercation, he says she shouted, screamed and then pushed him and yes he slapped her on the face once. He is charged with assault. They have history and 3 years ago he received 4 weeks prison for assault , because he didn't want to say she was lying (she was kicking, punching and scratching him). So naive.
Today he has been told by a lawyer he should plead guilty with mitigating circumstances and suggests he represent himself. Not eligible for Legal Aid.
Do you know, can he just read out a very apologetic statement and can he also contradict her claims? He is so remorseful about this but she doesn't take any responsibility for her behavior. Can he provide the court with Character Witness statements - from Therapist, parents or people who have seen her behaviour in the past? The argument was she wants more maintenance, he gives her twice what is expected, plus we had the boy three days every week anyway, and she works and claims benefits.
She is quite unstable sometimes, I have seen her go completely berserk before, as have several other people, our family have helped her so much over the last few year and now she seems determined to have my son jailed.
Should we be paying for someone to help with a guilty plea in a weeks time?
thanks for any input
It might be worth having a word with Citizen's Advice Bureau, as we're not really qualified to advise on criminal law matters. It does seem that the lawyer did give him sensible advice - you could pay for legal advice with regards to any preparation, without needing a lawyer in court.
I think the problem in court will be the previous custodial sentence, I'm sure it will be taken into account. I agree with the lawyer that he should concentrate on mitigation and provide as much evidence as possible to back up the difficulties caused by the ex.
If at all possible, I would advise that he pays for legal representation.
Best of luck
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