Alan Phillips of our office instructed Scott Lynch of Counsel one behalf of our client who was a member of the Brisbane Sudanese community.
Our client was charged with hitting another man with a hammer to the face. The incident occurred in the middle of a public soccer match with hundreds of spectators.
Our office was engaged after the client was initially refused Magistrates court bail. A short time after we were instructed to act, a successful Supreme Court bail application was made.
The brief of evidence was subsequently disclosed, and our office reviewed the brief thoroughly. We highlighted a significant gap in the evidence as in our view, our client was not sufficiently identified.
The matter proceeded to a committal hearing in the Richlands Magistrates Court. Our office submitted that there was no case to answer for our client, as he could not be proved to be linked to the offending beyond a reasonable doubt. Following two days of submissions and cross-examination of a witness, the Magistrate decided that our client could not be convicted by a jury on the admissible evidence, and our client was discharged.
The offence carried a maximum of life imprisonment if our client was convicted. This was a quick and efficient way to dispose of the matter. Having our client discharged at this early time saved our client significant stress by avoiding the time and expense of a District Court jury trial.
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