The conviction of a man found guilty of threatening the mother of his children has been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Jarmaine Broadley, 38, from Southampton, had denied using menacing words during a phone conversation in November 2013.

During his trial, Magistrates’ Court heard that he called the mother of his children, telling her: “I will f***ing kill your mother, your father, your brother and I will f***ing kill you.”

While he was found guilty at the trial’s conclusion he appealed to the Supreme Court on several grounds, including that he had not been given a sufficient opportunity to find legal representation and that there had been a lack of evidence.

Defence lawyer Bruce Swan told the Supreme Court that Broadley was unable to afford legal representation during the trial and, because the matter was triable only in Magistrates’ Court, Broadley was not eligible to receive legal aid.

While he attempted to defend himself, Mr Swan said his client chose not to take the stand under the belief that his police interview would be sufficient to express his case.

Mr Swan said also Broadley did not cross examine the complainant because he was afraid it would impact separate matters in family court.

“These matters were being overshadowed and that’s why Mr Broadley didn’t cross examine his children’s mother and took a quite withdrawn approach to the matters,” Mr Swan said.

“He didn’t want to upset matters between the mother of his children and himself.”

Chief Justice Ian Kawaley ruled that there had been sufficient evidence against Broadley, noting that the complainant had taken the stand during the trial.

He also said that Broadley did have sufficient time to get legal representation, although he was unable to do so due to his financial situation and the limitations of the Legal Aid Act.

“Having heard the submissions of both counsel, I’m unable to find that there was any error in law that amounts to a substantial miscarriage of justice and dismiss the appeal,” Mr Justice Kawaley said.

He then remanded the matter back to the Magistrates’ Court for sentencing.