Last year, James Jackson represented a client on a serious charge of assault occasioning bodily harm, for which the client was facing a term of imprisonment. After a trial of the issues, Mr Jackson convinced the Magistrate that the client had been provoked, with the result that the court placed the client on an intensive supervision order instead of what would have been a lengthy prison sentence.

The client returned to James several months later, unfortunately charged with breaching the order that had been imposed. The breaching offence was unusual and had numerous extenuating circumstances. Mr Jackson took detailed instructions from the client and comprehensively presented these to the court. After a detailed plea in mitigation, the court allowed the intensive supervision order to continue, and imposed a fine for the breach. This exceptional outcome allowed the client to remain in the community and continue with their employment, rather than being resentenced to a more serious penalty.