Mother accused of shaking baby cleared

In 2021, we began representing a young wife and mother who was charged with an offence of assault occasioning bodily harm. The prosecution alleged that our client had deliberately shaken her 4-month old baby girl and caused her to sustain rib fractures. Understandably our client, who was a new mother, was devastated to be accused of harming her first new born. Our client strongly denied the allegations and the matter was listed for trial. Due to factors beyond our control there were delays with the trial proceeding in a timely manner. Prior to the most recent trial date in February 2024, we were provided with further medical notes which did not contradict our client’s position, and so along with identifying the deficiencies in the prosecution case, we advanced a submission to discontinue the charge having regard to the questionable prospects of securing a conviction, and the public interest. The submission was accepted before the trial date and the charge was discontinued. Whilst the costs award could not compensate our client for the overwhelming stress of the criminal justice process, we were able to recover some of the legal costs our client had incurred over the last 3 years. The timing of the discontinuance was timed perfectly, with our client discovering she was now expecting her second child!