Our client, with no previous criminal history, experienced a psychotic episode with features of religious mania. Part of our client’s psychosis included compulsive spitting. Her family were concerned about her and called an ambulance. Whilst in the back of the ambulance, our client spat towards the open doors of the ambulance just as one of the ambulance officers was walking around to re-enter. The spit, unfortunately, landed on his face and resulted in our client being charges with assault on a public officer.
We commissioned a private psychiatric report which confirmed our client was not criminally responsible for her actions. The report formed the basis of our meticulously prepared public interest submission urging the prosecution to discontinue the charge, having regard not only to the poor prospects of conviction on account of our client’s mental condition at the time, but also the availability of accident as a defence. The prosecution accepted our assessment and dropped the charge.
