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Prison sentence to follow solicitor for contempt of court
A solicitor found guilty of contempt of court twice will have a month-long prison term hanging over his head for the next two years.
Naomi Neilson
Justice Melinda Richards convicted Jonathan Bowers-Taylor of two counts of contempt of court and handed down a 30-day prison term.
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However, the prison term will be suspended for two years, with Bowers-Taylor expected to serve the sentence if he fails to comply with the orders and injunctions of the Victorian Supreme Court.
The court heard Bowers-Taylor breached orders made on 9 August prohibiting from “preventing, obstructing or otherwise hindering” a manager who had taken over his law firm, JBT Lawyers.
Just months earlier, the same court found two charges of contempt of court were proven beyond reasonable doubt when Bowers-Taylor failed to provide the manager with software and failed to permit the manager to secure and remove a computer server.
Justice Richards said Bowers-Taylor’s conduct affected the administration of justice because he “wasted his client’s time and money” and the time of a solicitor and the Supreme Court.
Justice Richards added the “most significant” part of Bowers-Taylor’s misconduct was his “repeated defiance” of the court’s orders.
“It is a grave matter for any person to deliberately disobey a court order. It is even more grave when that person has been admitted to practice as a member of the Australian legal professional and is an officer of the court,” Justice Richards said.
“The administration of justice is necessarily impaired when such a person flouts the court’s authority.”
Justice Richard said it was “particularly concerning” that Bowers-Taylor demonstrated no insight into the seriousness of the contempt findings and “has expressed no contrition for his conduct and given no assurance that he will comply with the court’s orders in future”.
While the Victorian Legal Services Board (VLSB) said the contempt was criminal and needed a penalty sufficient enough to deter Bowers-Taylor from repeating the conduct, Bowers-Taylor argued the contempt of court finding was sufficient enough.
In addition to the prison sentence, Justice Richards has restrained Bowers-Taylor from communicating in the name of or on behalf of JBT Lawyers without permission from the manager, engaging in legal practice, or doing anything that implies he is entitled to engage.
