Trial stopped after prosecutors didn't have time to do photocopying

Published 17th Oct 2009

The case against five men accused of starting a bar brawl had to be dropped because the prosecuting team hadn't got round to photocopying the paperwork.

Officials at the Crown Prosecution Service had spent six months preparing the case but told magistrates that the person responsible for copying the documents was off work having an operation.

Magistrate Sue Arnold said the excuse was unacceptable and refused an application to adjourn the case for yet another week.

The five men were discharged. They had already been bailed five times since the alleged offence on April 24. The CPS had been preparing papers to commit them for trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The case has cost up to £2,000 in legal fees alone, excluding police and court time before Walsall magistrates.

Brij Chaudhry, lawyer for two of the defendants, said the CPS could charge the men again once it 'gets its act together'.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

View All Nonsense News