Legal Eagles in here please.

fatiain

fatiain

fatiain

Soldato
Joined
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Pratislava, Berk-shire
Just had my sister on the phone, she's spent the last 3 days at the Police station on suspicion of theft. Apparently the stock levels at her work are down and they've got CCTV footage of her putting money out the till into her pocket. (this is BS as her work trousers don't actually have pockets). She may be many things but my sister is not a thief.

Now the complicated bit, she's 7 months pregnant and due to the stress of being arrested, drug tested etc, she's not eaten since monday, she's being sick and the baby is stressed too. It took from Monday till Wednesday for her to see the duty solicitor. She asked the duty brief "what's the quickest way for this to be over, like NOW?". Idiot duty brief says "admit it". She did. IIRC, she can change her plea can't she?

Dad isn't happy, her bf isn't happy and after hearing this I am not happy.

She has to go into work on Monday for a disciplinary (probably going to get sacked for Gross Misconduct), we all think it's her work trying to get out of paying her Maternity Pay as they were less than chuffed when she told them she was pregnant.

Advice please?
 
unfortunately saying guilty wasn,t a good Idea, I can see why, but not ideal. Just explain the situation to them in full or probably a solicitor first, and say that they are probably trying to sack her so they dont have to pay maternity, !
 
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Nooooo, she admitted it ?

Best advice is to get a good solicitor NOW, he/she will put that confession down to stress and being pregnant, where the case will depends on evidence should it go to trial.
 
Sleepy said:
Get qualified legal advice ASAP
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Sounds like they might be creating fraudulent charges in order to remove her before they have to pay out maternity leave. I’ve personally seen it attempted before.

LEGEL EAGLES!
 
Raymond Lin said:
Nooooo, she admitted it ?

Best advice is to get a good solicitor NOW, he/she will put that confession down to stress and being pregnant, where the case will depends on evidence should it go to trial.
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Yes, do that.

You can change your plea AFAIK but it doesn't look good...
As long as the situation is explained etc... things should work out..
Because she is so heavily pregnant they would "go easy" anyway
 
Raymond Lin said:
Nooooo, she admitted it ?

Best advice is to get a good solicitor NOW, he/she will put that confession down to stress and being pregnant, where the case will depends on evidence should it go to trial.
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That's what I said to her. Isn't the legal term "under duress"?

I think the "evidence" is at best shaky.
 
fatiain said:
...
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3 days on remand for a petty crime, and a heavily pregnant lady? Drug testing?

Something ain't right.

Get a decent solicitor - I'm sure that any self-implication of guilt can be mitigated if it shown that she was acting on negligent legal advice.

If the troos are non-pocketed, make sure they are produced as evidence.
 
Under duress is a different thing.
You are under duress if you are forced to do something because of the threat of force.
The force also has to be substantial,

And for that to be valid you have to be put under a threat of violence to yourself, your family, spouse or close friends.

Simply being pregnant is not enough AFAIK.
 
fatiain said:
That's what I said to her. Isn't the legal term "under duress"?

I think the "evidence" is at best shaky.
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Duress is when you enter a contract under threat or some kind of illegal enticement. Where here she want it to end fast and admitted it.

If they had been beating her and say things like "you are not getting out of this room until you sign this", then that would be duress.

Confessing because she want it to end quickly doesn't apply.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Confessing because she want it to end quickly doesn't apply.
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Agreed. You can have Mitigating factors though such as the fact she is pregnant, under stress etc...
 
I don't honestly know. I'd get a good solicitor and see what they say as they have 7 years training and I have 2 years A-Level study :rolleyes:
 
Without knowing all the facts, i say even if she is convicted (which will be months away if it goes to trial), it is VERY unlikely she will do time. At most is a few hours community service, the worst bit is the record than the punishment thou.

If she is not guilty, i suggest she fight this all the way. Crimes of dishonestly is very serious and will affect her in a lot of ways.
 
*Fully Agrees with Raymond Lin*

If she isn't guilty, fight it all the way.
Have you/she seen the CCTV footage?
How grainy/clear cut is it?
You have to declare theft for 7 years *I think*
Nicht gut.
 
Borris said:
Does that fact that her "confession" was a result of poor counselling make a difference?
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The solicitor is correct to point out the quickest way out of this is to confess as it'll go straight to sentencing. But is it the correct decision made by the client? I doubt it, but the solicitor can only point out to the client her options, and then take instructions according to her wishes. He should have said (no doubt he would have if he was qualified). the consequences of a guilty confession, it is up to her to decide her course of action.
 
Borris said:
3 days on remand for a petty crime, and a heavily pregnant lady? Drug testing?

Something ain't right.

Get a decent solicitor - I'm sure that any self-implication of guilt can be mitigated if it shown that she was acting on negligent legal advice.

If the troos are non-pocketed, make sure they are produced as evidence.
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It sounds like a cluster **** from the start. The wait for 3 days was to see the duty brief, nothing else afaik. And apparently the drug testing is mandatory when you get nicked by Cambs Constabulary.
 
3 days to see the duty brief smells like ******** to me.
You can request to see a solicitor at any time, 24 hours a day. If you do not have one, you can see the duty solicitor which are always well qualified and do not work for the police, so are also "on your side"
 
Has she seen the CCTV footage?She has a right to a copy, under the DPA. Although, as it is evidence of an alleged crime, different rules apply, and her legal representation should apply for a copy through rules governing disclosure.

From the standpoint of her job, it would probably stand her in good stead (for any potential claims for wrongful / constructive dismissal) to know what they are basing their claim on.

The upshot is that she will probably lose her job, regardless (as they appear to have mad up their mind either way) - She now needs to make sure that she strengthens her future position, and that she does not carry any black mark around with her.
 
I would echo the calls of getting proper legal advice ASAP, I very much doubt there will be any proper 'punishment' but the record is a serious matter.

I'd be slightly concerned however that if the police have got involved on the basis of CCTV footage then it presumably must show her doing something?

If you were being really cocky you could try to argue Article 6 of the Human Rights Act gives her the right to view the CCTV footage :)
 
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