Aspiring lawyer lashed out at friend in Welsh hospital
A second year law student at the University of West England felt the full force of the law last week as she was sentenced for attacking her friend at a hospital in Cardiff, leaving her career hopes hanging in the balance.
Amber Silver, from Barry, pleaded guilty to attacking her friend, Heather Morrison, in May last year, in a row supposedly sparked by a selfie with a newborn baby — or the lack of.
Recorder Judge Peter Griffiths QC heard that Silver went with the victim and another friend to University Hospital of Wales, to see their friend’s new baby. When Silver and co left the hospital at around seven that evening, the 20 year-old student lost her cool because she hadn’t had a chance to take her picture with the baby. When the victim told her to “stop being a spoiled bitch”, Silver threatened to kill her, pulled Morrison’s hair and bit her fingers.
But, last night, an aggrieved Silver took to Facebook to fight her corner, claiming that the scuffle wasn’t over a selfie at all.
I'm aware of what's being said and wanted to share something with the people buying into the utter crap. Here is the…
Posted by Amber Silver on Saturday, 13 February 2016
Regardless of what the argument was about, Silver pleaded guilty to common assault at Cardiff Crown Court, and was ordered to attend a senior attendance centre for 12 hours and to pay a £60 victim surcharge.
The judge was at pains to point out that Silver’s aspiring legal career will be affected by this conviction, something that she was reportedly worried about. He told the wannabe lawyer:
You study law now. You should realise you might throw away a future legal career.
But is a conviction like this really the be all and end all?
Legal Cheek got in touch with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), to find out just how detrimental Silver’s actions will be on her future career path. An SRA spokesperson told us:
All potential entrants to the profession must complete the suitability test, which includes declaring any past convictions, to see if they are a fit and proper person to deliver legal services to the public. Every application is dealt with on its merits, there are no convictions or otherwise that lead to an automatic refusal.