Administering a Noxious or Poisonous Substance

If you have recently received a postal requisition or have recently been charged with the offence of maliciously administering a poison or noxious substance with the intent to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm, it is crucial that you appoint expert legal representation as soon as possible. If you would like to speak with one of our specialist legal team, please call us on 0330 818 9847 or complete our Contact Form.

There are two offences which cover this type of conduct:

1. Maliciously administering poison or noxious substance with intent to injure, aggrieve, or annoy any other person – Section 24 Offences Against the Person Act 1861
2. Maliciously administering poison or noxious substance to endanger life or inflict grievous bodily harm – Section 23 Offences Against the Person Act 1861

Whether a person is charged under Section 23 or Section 24 will depend upon the following factors:

1. The substance which is said to have been involved;
2. Whether there was intent to injure, aggrieve or annoy any other person;
3. Whether life was endangered, or grievous bodily harm was inflicted

A charge under either section is a very serious criminal offence, and one which will be tried before the Crown Court. If a person is convicted, the Court can impose a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

Poisonous & Noxious Substances

There are numerous substances which fall within the classification of poisonous and or noxious. Common examples of poisonous substances would include arsenic, mercury, bleach, anthrax and carbon monoxide.

There is a substantially wider scope for a substance to be considered as noxious, and this can include slimming pills, ‘date rape drugs’ such as rohypnol and laxatives.

Defences for Administering a Noxious or Poisonous Substance Cases

These offences are very technical and complex, which can potentially be defended in a variety of different ways, depending on the individual circumstances of each case and the prosecution evidence. If you are considering challenging the prosecution case, it is vital that you have a strong defence team in your corner with a proven track record of successfully defending these types of cases.

Recent Successful Case

Our lawyers successfully advised and defended a Boots Pharmacist at trial before Birmingham Crown Court. Further details of this case can be found below:

When Should You Contact Our Specialist Criminal Solicitors?

If you are suspected of committing a crime, have been asked to attend the police station or have recently been charged, please contact us as soon as possible. Seeking legal advice at an early stage will significantly increase the prospects of a successful outcome and will ensure that your defence is properly established from the outset. Contacting us at an early stage of the investigation or immediately after charge will enable us to advise you of the cost of representation, how you ought to plead and the options available to you.

What Will Happen When You Contact Us?

When you call us regarding your case, you will be transferred to one of our Private Criminal Defence Lawyers and we will take some initial details regarding the allegation made against you. Once we have a basic understanding of the allegation, and your version of events we will be able to provide you with our initial thoughts on the options available to you and how we can assist.

We will also provide you with an indication of the likely cost to defend your case and will provide you with a fixed fee for appointing us as your legal team.

As such matters can be life changing, we cannot provide any detailed advice on how you should plead, and the strength of your case during the initial phone call. Detailed advice will be provided once we are formally instructed as your lawyers and once we have considered the evidence in the case.

Advantages of Paying Privately for a Specialist Criminal Defence Lawyer

1. Expertise: There are very limited number of law firms throughout the country that only accept criminal cases on a private fee-paying basis, these lawyers will usually only accept such cases because they possess superior legal knowledge and expertise.
2. Communication: Paying for legal representation privately will usually result in better and more frequent communication with your Solicitor and Barrister. Lawyers paid privately will usually respond to e-mails and phone calls quickly.
3. Preparation: The amount of time a lawyer spends preparing a case and considering the evidence will have an impact upon the result. Paying privately will ensure that the lawyer can spend enough time on case preparation, which will have a positive impact on the overall outcome of the case. We prepare thoroughly for each case.
4. Service: Clients that instruct lawyers via private funds will receive a substantially better service than those using legal aid.   
5. Quality: The overall quality of legal representation from private client solicitors is significantly superior.
6. Consistency: We provide all our clients with consistency and continuity, the lawyer dealing with your case will be the same person from start to finish.

How Much Will a Private Solicitor Cost Me?

Each client, and each case is individual and different, for that reason there are no set fees for our cases, because the cost will be determined by the number of offences, the nature of the offence and the evidence in the case. If you are interested in appointing us as your lawyers, please call us and we can provide you with an estimate on the cost to take your case to trial.

Our fees for representation at the First Magistrates’ Court Hearing start from £2,500+VAT and this will include a meeting with one of our lawyers, initial detailed legal advice and representation at the Magistrates’ Court.

The Process of Appointing Our Lawyers

Once you have spoken with us and been given an initial case assessment and fee for representation at the First Magistrates’ Court Hearing, if you wish to proceed with formally appointing us, please notify us as soon as possible.

A Fixed Fee invoice will be e-mailed to you and full payment of the invoice will need to be made via BACS or online transfer. Once we have received payment of the fee, a file will be opened, and an appointment will be booked for you to meet us at our offices in Birmingham, Milton Keynes or London in person so that we can discuss the allegation with you and provide you with detailed initial advice.