A single mother who kicked and punched a victim during a "nasty" fracas outside Wollongong nightspot Mr Crown has made a bid to overturn the severity of her sentence.
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Emily Clifford, 25, faced Wollongong District Court on Monday where she successfully appealed her sentence in part, and has been spared extra time behind bars.
She originally copped an 11-month jail term with a non-parole period of six months for affray when she faced Magistrate Roger Prowse in the local court last November.
The disability support worker was granted bail in the district court four days later, ahead of her appeal today, where her sentence was reduced to a two-year community correction order.
Tendered court documents revealed Clifford left Mr Crown with her friend Shiakiah Walker and cousin Clinton Clifford, and engaged in an argument with another group shortly after 1am on November 27, 2021.
Clinton ran across the road and got close to the group which had at this point erupted into a melee.
Clifford and Walker crossed the street, before Clifford moved closer to a man who she punched in the chest, causing him to fall.
Walker then punched the man in the head. She fell over when the man pushed her back, prompting Clifford to step in to hit him.
Clifford and Walker then turned on another man, punching and kicking him while he cowered with his head in his hands.
Bystanders attempted to separate Clifford without success, as Walker grabbed the man by his shirt and kicked him while Clifford punched him.
Then, cousin Clinton returned with a baseball bat and beat another man several times, prompting an all-out brawl on Crown Street likened to a "riot".
Clifford walked away to pick up her thongs before she returned to the fracas, attempting to rile up men in the group.
Security held the men and Clifford back as they yelled threats at one another. Clifford and Walker then left, driving off in their car parked behind the Harp Hotel.
In court on Monday, defence lawyer Caitlin Drabble said it was a "foolish spot" to get into a fracas given the entire incident was caught on CCTV.
After a public appeal from officers who released stills of the footage, Clifford turned herself into the police station in January 2022.
Ms Drabble conceded her client's behaviour was "disgraceful" but argued Clifford's co-offenders had received lesser sentences in the community.
Judge Christopher O'Brien said it didn't matter that others were involved in more serious acts.
"When reading the facts, I was wondering where her then two-year-old child was while her mother was out ... punching on in the middle of the street in Wollongong," Judge O'Brien said.
However he accepted Clifford had faced difficulties behind bars, including dealing with the shock of her friend's death in the cells.
In addition to the correction order, Clifford was also ordered to perform 150 hours of unpaid community service work.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
