THE six-day trial of AM Mick Bates has concluded and the verdict will be given tomorrow, Friday December 10.
The Montgomeryshire AM denies three counts of common assault by beating and three public order offences, during the early hours of January 20.
Bates, 63, of Llanfair Caereinion is accused of assaulting two paramedics, Carl Jones and Darren Noble, and one nurse, Clare Morris.
He is also accused of using abusive and insulting words to cause alarm and/or distress at Charleston Steak House on Caroline Street, Cardiff, in the back of an ambulance and at the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff.
Bates’ defence argues that he was briefly suffering from a condition called automatism at the time of the incident, which would mean he was neither aware nor responsible for what he was doing for medical reasons.
Ms Jessica Element, prosecuting, said: “The Crown says that Bates was drunk, not involved in a fight, was not concussed, was not acting as an automaton and that he assaulted Darren Noble, Carl Jones and Clare Morris.”
In Ms Element’s closing statement she said: “Bates had drunk so much prior to his fall that he was more than three times over the legal drink-drive limit.
"He had drunk pints, shared two bottles of wine and had two sambuca shots.”
Ms Element dismissed any evidence that Bates was involved in a fight and instead said he fell down the stairs as a result of being intoxicated.
She returned to the evidence of Craig Williams, the Tory councillors who Bates was with on January 20, who told the court he saw no fight between Bates and the man he was having a heated discussion with.
She asked that the evidence given by William Rees - who claims to have seen Bates attacked on CCTV footage - be dismissed because it is not credible.
Ms Element went on to say that Bates was not concussed and was not acting as an automaton.
She referred to the fact that none of the medical professionals on the night made note of his being concussed, and that he acted in a purposeful manner while in the ambulance and at the hospital.
She made reference to Bates being at least partially in control of his faculties while in the hospital - for example squeezing the nurse’s hand when asked to do so, and trying to climb out of the trolley bed he was placed in for treatment.
She concluded by saying: “Mr Bates was intoxicated, aggressive, abusive and displayed appropriate consciousness.”
Stuart Hutton, defending, said: “Automatism is a defence because the mind does not go with what is being done.”
He told the district judge, Bodfan Jenkins, that it is down to the prosecution to prove that Bates was acting voluntarily as a result of a blow to the head, and if you are left in any doubt then you have to give a verdict of not guilty.
In his closing statement, Mr Hutton explained how Bates made his way to Charleston’s restaurant on his own steam and was not legless.
He said: “We know that Mr Bates went to the bar area with Craig Williams and we are told that he was drunk, refused a drink, and for whatever reason there was no CCTV footage.
"But, this is not accepted in the light of evidence from Mr William Rees, who says he saw footage of a man punching Mr Bates several times before he went through the swing door.”
Mr Hutton also made reference to Craig Williams initially telling officers that Mr Bates was pushed down the stairs.
Mr Hutton said: “The police officers went upstairs looking for a man with a description in their heads, which incidentally was given to them by Mr Craig Williams, but the court heard how the police did not see a fire escape.
"But after being reminded about licensing laws, they were willing to concede that there probably was one, and then we heard from William Rees that there is a fire escape and it leads onto the street.”
Mr Hutton concluded: “Look at the contrast between Mr Bates as everyone knows him and the sudden change following the fall. All of a sudden he becomes this man no one has seen before.
“All of a sudden this monster was there. The blow to the head created the monster. If you could take a condition away, then the monster would disappear.
“There is no doubt in my submission that there was a destruction to his mind.
“The person we have seen, post the fall, was not demonstrating the characteristics of Mr Bates. The lights were on but no one was home.”
District judge Bodfan Jenkins will record his verdict tomorrow, Friday December 10.
Stuart Hutton, defending, said: “Automatism is a defence because the mind does not go with what is being done.”
He told district judge Bodfan Jenkins that it is down to the prosecution to prove that Mr Bates was acting voluntarily as a result of a blow to the head, and if he was left in any doubt then he should give a verdict of not guilty.
In his closing statement, Mr Hutton explained how Bates made his way to Charleston’s Restaurant under his own steam and was not "legless".
He said: “We know that Mr Bates went to the bar area with Craig Williams and we are told that he was drunk, refused a drink, and for whatever reason there was no CCTV footage. But, this is not accepted in the light of evidence from Mr William Rees, who says he saw footage of a man punching Mr Bates several times before he went through the swing door.”
Mr Hutton also made reference to Craig Williams initially telling officers that Mr Bates was pushed down the stairs.
Mr Hutton said: “The police officers went upstairs looking for a man with a description in their heads, which incidentally was given to them by Mr Craig Williams, but the court heard how the police did not see a fire escape.
"After being reminded about licensing laws, they were willing to concede that there probably was one and then we heard from William Rees that there is a fire escape and it leads onto the street.”
Mr Hutton concluded: “Look at the contrast between Mr Bates as everyone knows him and the sudden change following the fall. All of a sudden he becomes this man no-one has seen before.
“All of a sudden this monster was there. The blow to the head created the monster. If you could take a condition away, then the monster would disappear.
“There is no doubt in my submission that there was a destruction to his mind.
“The person we have seen post the fall, was not demonstrating the characteristics of Mr Bates. The lights were on but no-one was home.”
District judge Bodfan Jenkins will record his verdict tomorrow, Friday December 10.