Thug and woman beater -James Haberfield .
A young man who placed a female paramedic in a headlock and punched her in the face has been spared jail for a second time.
James Haberfield avoided a mandatory prison term for the drug fuelled attack.
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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-16/ ... d/11802038
A judge has upheld a decision not to jail a Melbourne man who attacked two Victorian paramedics while in a "psychotic state" after taking a cocktail of drugs at a festival.
Key points:
County Court Judge Michael Tinney found James Haberfield's mental impairment at the time of the crime was linked to his schizophrenia
He extended Haberfield's treatment, monitoring and corrections orders for a further four months
The case is the first test of laws designed to require jail sentences for people who attack paramedics
James Haberfield, 22, was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order in August,
thereby avoiding a minimum six-month jail term imposed under recently introduced laws for those who attack emergency workers.
Prosecutors appealed the decision on the grounds that "it was not open to the magistrate to impose any sentence other than a custodial sentence" as required under the Sentencing Act.
Today, County Court Judge Michael Tinney refused to jail Haberfield, finding the new laws still provided for special reasons which could act as exception.
"In truth, it is not a mandatory sentencing provision," Judge Tinney said of the new legislation.
The judge said the first special reason was Haberfield's mental impairment at the time of the offence, which he found was not solely due to his drug-taking but was also linked to underlying schizophrenia.
The second special reason was what Judge Tinney described as the "extraordinary burden" of a jail term, saying Haberfield was a "deeply disturbed and vulnerable first offender" who would be "likely to be greatly damaged in adult prison".
The case was the first test of the legislative changes, which came into effect in October 2018.
Judge Tinney extended Haberfield's original mandatory treatment, monitoring and community corrections orders for an additional four months.
During sentencing, Judge Tinney told Haberfield he had avoided jail "by the skin of your teeth".
