A Harrogate man has been jailed for becoming abusive in court when he was being sentenced on other matters.
Samuel Arnold Hughes, 46, of Swarcliffe Road, Harrogate, was found to have wilfully insulted the justices when he appeared at Harrogate Magistrates' Court on Friday, 17th November 2023.
Contempt of court in the Magistrates' Court has a maximum penalty of one months' custody and/or a fine at level 4 (currently £2,500). We have previously written an article about misbehaviour in the Magistrates' Court, which some readers may find of interest.
Hughes had earlier been convicted of assaulting a woman. In relation to that offence, he was sentenced to 18 weeks' custody suspended for 2 years, with a requirement that he complete the building better relationships programme. However, the court heard that he failed to attend an appointment back in July 2023.
In cases where an offender breaches the conditions of their suspended sentence order, the court must activate the custodial sentence unless it would be unjust in all the circumstances to do so. I am surmising that Hughes was a little bit upset at that news, which has caused him to kick off in court.
According to the court records "he used foul and abusive language on the sentence being pronounced". He also kicked out at the court furniture and resisted the application of handcuffs.
Hughes was sentenced to 4 weeks' custody, the maximum available, for contempt for court.
No comments:
Post a Comment