A law student was given a "first hand insight into the legal system" when she appeared in court charged with assault.
Marium Vaidya (24) was ordered to pay £800 in fines and costs for repeatedly striking a woman on the head in a city centre pub.
Vaidya, of Bayberry Avenue, Eyres Monsell, pleaded guilty to common assault,at the Marz Bar, in Belvoir Street, in the early hours of February 28 last year.
Kate Plummer, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court that a friend of Vaidya, Lianne Towers, 27, became involved in an altercation with a woman in the bar.
Vaidya then stood between the two women who were lashing out, holding her arms out trying to separate them, and was struck on the head at one stage. The boyfriend of the victim then stood in front of his girlfriend to protect her from Towers.
Miss Plummer said: "The victim fell back into an armchair and the bouncers then mistook the situation and removed the boyfriend. The defendant, Vaidya, then approached her and struck her forcefully between seven and nine times on the head."
The barman took the victim outside.
Towers then ran up and punched the victim, in front of police officers.
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Miss Plummer said Towers had already been dealt with by magistrates, who fined her £200 for common assault. The complainant suffered reddening and bruising to her head and face, although the prosecution were unable to say which injury was caused by which assault.
When arrested, Vaidya said she acted in self-defence.
Miss Plummer said: "There was no need for this defendant to become involved in what wasn't her fight and the complainant was sitting in an armchair at the time."
Recorder Michael Stephens said: "I'm very much influenced in the way Lianne Towers was dealt with by magistrates, although you're in the crown court and only pleaded guilty here on the day of your trial.
"You're an undergraduate seeking to pursue a law degree and possibly a career in the law. This, in its way, has given you a first-hand insight into the justice system.
"But if you're going to pursue a career in the law you can't get into trouble like this in future.
"You may have to give up going around with certain people or to certain places.
"Violence in public places when fuelled with alcohol isn't dealt with so lightly here as in the magistrates court."
Mary Prior, mitigating, said Towers, who was fined £200, was also more seriously involved in an assault in front of police officers.
She said that Vaidya was in her second year of a law degree and also worked part-time for an insurance company.
