Mark Robinson, instructed by Taylors Solicitors, secures an acquittal for his client charged with affray following an eight-day trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.
The defendant and three co-defendants were alleged to have assaulted door staff and a police officer after being refused entry to a nightclub in Portsmouth. The defendants all relied on self-defence. Their case was that the door staff used unreasonable force when they detained and restrained individuals within the group.
The Crown relied on CCTV, body worn camera evidence and the account from several witnesses. Mark cross-examined two witnesses who, upon being shown the CCTV, conceded that they were mistaken about his client’s involvement. A third witness, who claimed he was assaulted by the client, said he captured the events on his body worn camera. This evidence was later found not to be in existence.
Mark submitted that the Crown had not proven its case. Despite his client kicking a doorman, his client was entitled to hold the belief that he was about to be assaulted as a result of the door staff’s general conduct on the night.
It was also submitted that two of the witnesses, a doorman and a police officer had accepted that they wrongly identified the defendant and the remaining witnesses account could not be supported due to lack of evidence.
The jury returned a unanimous Not Guilty verdict for all four defendants.
Mark’s full profile: https://greatjames.co.uk/members/mark-robinson/