Getting a Criminal Charge dropped or Dismissed

If you have been charged with a criminal case, it is possible to have the charges dropped or dismissed before a trial.

Your solicitor will carefully advise you of the options which are available at various stages of the criminal proceedings.

What is the Prosecution’s role in criminal proceedings?

The Prosecution bring a case against an individual. They will have a team of investigators whose role is to gather the evidence and prepare the case.

To be ‘guilty’ of a criminal offence, the prosecution must prove the offence before the court. This duty falls on the prosecution alone; they must make the court sure that an individual or company committed a crime.

The prosecution are not always successful. This may be because a key witness cracks under cross examination, or a jury decides that they just cannot be sure that the defendant in a case is the person who committed the crime.

Why are criminal cases dropped or dismissed?

There are many reasons why this can occur including:

• Insufficient evidence;
• Reliability of the witness evidence;
• Unavailability of a witness;
• Abuse of process;
• The law not being applied correctly.

Charging Test applied by Prosecutors

In order to charge a suspect, the Prosecutor is required to apply the following two stage test:  

• Stage 1: is there enough evidence against the suspect to provide a realistic prospect of conviction;

The prosecutor must consider whether the evidence is reliable, credible and whether there is anything that might undermine the case against the suspect.

If the answer is yes, then they will proceed to stage 2.

• Stage 2: is it in the public interest to prosecute?

How is a criminal case dropped?

Throughout the duration of criminal proceedings, the Prosecutor is under a duty to review the prosecution. The role of the defence lawyer is to strategically remind the Prosecutor of the two stage test and why the case should be dropped against our client.

Many times, your lawyer will be carrying out proactive defence enquiries to obtain evidence which undermines the prosecution case. Or, it could be demonstrating inconsistencies with the evidence which the prosecution have produced. There are many acts that lead to a criminal case being dropped.

Who has the authority to drop a criminal case?

The prosecuting authority has the power to drop a criminal case. This can be the CPS, SFO, FCA, Local Authority etc. At times, this happens as a result of events which take place either in or outside of the court room, forcing the prosecution to review the case.

What is a dismissal?

A judge can dismiss a charge against a defendant if they believe that no jury could properly convict on the evidence. The test sounds more complicated than it is in practice. If the prosecution evidence is such that a rational jury conviction would be impossible, the judge can order the charges away.

There are two types of dismissal:

• Application to Dismiss: an application must be made within a particular time frame in the Crown Court and before a plea has been entered.

• Half-time Submission: Once a trial has commenced and at the close of the prosecution case, the defence can make a submission of no case to answer.

 What is the test for an Application to Dismiss?

The test applied is that prima facie there is no case to answer and that the evidence against the Defendant would not be sufficient for him to be properly convicted.

What is the test for a Half-time Submission?

The test for whether a charge should be dismissed is best set out in the case of R v Galbraith that the evidence is of a tenuous or inconsistent nature and if taken at its highest, the jury could not properly convict upon it:

1. Either, there is no evidence that a crime has been committed by the defendant; or
2. That there is some evidence before the court, but it is tenuous or inconsistent in nature.

A dismissal application will be made under either of these parts. If the court is satisfied that either of the limbs are met, it will dismiss the case.

How can I hire a lawyer?

At ABV we have a dedicated team with a wealth of experience defending those accused of criminal offences. Should you face any investigation, it is critical that you take immediate legal advice so you can benefit from the best possible defence. If proceedings are already underway, instructing a lawyer is still the best course of action.

Please call ABV Solicitors on 0344 587 9996 to speak to our specialists. We accept clients on both a private and a legal aid basis.