Jack Connor Bartlett, 20, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier admitting a charge of wounding with intent to injure.
In February, the defendant attempted to convince the judge he should not be convicted for the offence as it would hamper his future medical career.
But yesterday, Judge David Robinson declined the application saying the consequences stemmed from the crime, not the conviction.
The court heard that soon after midnight on June 15, the defendant was standing in a Dunedin street with an associate causing damage to a piece of wood.
A driver passing by yelled out the window telling them to stop and Bartlett replied ‘‘go kill yourself’’.
A passenger got out of the moving car and walked towards the defendant who ‘‘aggressively charged’’ at the man, a police summary said.
Bartlett punched the victim in the head and face with the man not delivering any blows back.
The victim was bleeding from the mouth and was taken to Dunedin Hospital.
Scans revealed his jaw had been dislocated and broken in two places. He also suffered a severed nerve to his chin and lip area and a cut above his eye.
The victim spent five days in hospital and had metal plates and screws inserted in his jaw during surgery.
He could not eat solid food for six weeks, had to take time off work and needed ongoing dental work.
Feeling in his chin and bottom lip may never return and he continued to suffer significant pain, headaches and sensitivity to light, the court heard.
After the incident, Bartlett admitted to police what he had done and said he had too much to drink that night.
He had previously been at a party where he had been involved in a fight. He was angry and left to cool off.
‘‘All this guy did was get out of the car and I attacked him ... I think I hit him twice, pretty hard in the face ... it wasn’t a fight, it was an assault,’’ the defendant told police.
At the hearing in February, counsel Sally McMillan argued a conviction should not be recorded given the defendant was a third-year medical student at the University of Otago.
‘‘His ambition in life is to help and save people with medical issues,’’ the lawyer said.
‘‘A conviction is potentially going to get him knocked out at the first hurdle.’’
If Bartlett was convicted, the university might deem it was inappropriate for him to continue studying, Ms McMillan said.
His studies might lead him to travel overseas and a conviction would hinder that, she said.
Ms McMillan pointed out the defendant’s youth, that he was drunk and upset at the time and that he was extremely sorry for the incident.
But Judge Robinson was not convinced a conviction should be withheld.
‘‘The underlying traits that caused the offence exist whether I enter a conviction or not,’’ the judge said.
‘‘Most of the significant consequences that are relied on ... are consequences of the offence not of conviction,’’ he said.
Judge Robinson sentenced Bartlett to 175 hours’ community work and ordered him to pay $2000 emotional harm reparation to the victim.
‘‘I strongly urge you to continue to aspire to be a doctor,’’ the judge said. ‘‘This should not be something that defines you. If anything my plea is that it’s something that motivates you.’’
