Common Assault Case Dropped After DPP Fails To Progress Files It And Complainant Cannot Be Found

By Alric Lindsay

A common assault case has ended with no conviction after Crown Counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions offered no evidence, the Chief Magistrate having heard that little or nothing had been done to move the matter forward and that the complainant could not be located.

Amber Rebecca Smith had faced a charge of common assault. The court heard that a trial date fixed in April for July had come and gone without the complainant, who was not present and could not be contacted. On July 8, DPP Crown Counsel had asked for further time to check on the complainant’s status; weeks later, the court was told, the position was unchanged.

When DPP Crown Counsel was pressed to explain the delays, he said: “Based on the file… it would appear… that nothing has been done.”

Defence counsel John Furniss applied for the matter to be brought to a close, arguing that the defendant had been left in a difficult position by the lack of progress.

The situation left DPP Crown Counsel with no evidence to offer in court. As such, the charge was dismissed.