A convicted criminal who hit a journalist photographing him outside court has had his provocation argument dismissed, with a magistrate saying the media taking photographs was part of open justice.
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James Lawrence Michael Raftery, 33, fronted the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to common assault and driving offences.
Court documents state that on January 28 last year, Raftery faced the same court on another matter when three journalists sat in the room during his session.
As Raftery, whose criminal history dates back to 2007 and includes dishonesty and property damage offences, exited the building later that day, the journalists were outside taking photos of him.
He approached the trio, picked up one of the journalists' camera bags and threw it over their heads.
He then made a lunging motion to that journalist, who ducked out of the way, before continuing to walk up Knowles Place towards the car park.
Another journalist, of News Corp, followed Raftery, who then swung an A4 envelope at the journalist, who was hit in the face.
In March, police went to the Magistrates Court to obtain CCTV footage of the incident, and later spoke with the journalists about the incident.
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During sentencing on Thursday, defence lawyer Georgia Le Couteur said her client had been provoked.
"I am suggesting there is some unusual aspect in Mr Raftery's case, in that he was pursued," she said.
Ms Le Couteur said her client told the journalists he did not want to be photographed, a claim not in the court documents.
The court heard Raftery was suffering from health issues that Ms Le Couteur said would reduce his likelihood of reoffending.
"These are charges that are the result of a chaotic life that was impacted severely by a serious heart condition," she said.
Ms Le Couteur said the assault was at the lower end of seriousness, and that Raftery would "accept the full gambit of punishment".
Prosecutor Lauren Knobel agreed that it was at the lower end, but said the victim was "simply doing his job".
"He deserves to be protected and not subject to abuse. It's not unusual for the media to take photos," Ms Knobel said.
Magistrate Peter Morrison dismissed the provocation argument, saying there was no evidence that the assault victim was "particularly persistent or intrusive in his approach to you".
"It's common for defendants and others leaving court to be photographed or video recorded because of the public interest in court proceedings," he said.
"That is indeed what constitutes part of the mechanics of the principle of open justice."
He also said the victim's actions were not illegal, nor did they breach any media code of ethics.
"Despite that conclusion about the absence of provocation as a mitigating factor, I'm satisfied that the sentencing aims can be met without imposing imprisonment," Mr Morrison said.
He sentenced Raftery to an 18-month good behaviour order (GBO) for the assault and a 12-month GBO for six driving offences from incidents in July 2020.
After sentencing, Raftery and his mother walked out together. Journalists took photos without incident.
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