Luke Weatherall's desperate dash for freedom was no uplifting Great Escape or Midnight Express, let alone a successful one.

Instead, his leap for liberty – attempted from inside a suburban Melbourne courtroom – was an agonising flop that will have lifelong consequences.

Weatherall on March 8 this year appeared in Heidelberg Magistrates Court on charges that included breaching an intervention order.

His solicitor Anna Balmer on Wednesday said Weatherall on that day jumped from the dock and ran from the courtroom and across the first floor of the building.

Ms Balmer said he then jumped down to the basement.