Category: News Feeds

Zimbabwe has had a 21-day national lockdown starting on the 30th March 2020 and ending at midnight on Sunday 19th April.  The question in most people’s mind is:  Will the Government extend the lockdown?  Earlier this week President Emmerson Mnangagwa indicated that the Government will be reviewing the national lockdown on the 20th or the 21st April and will consider the possibility of an extension.

WHO Advice About Extending Lockdowns

Many countries that have had strict lockdowns are now deciding whether to extend them, or impose more restrictions, or ease restrictions.

The Secretary-General of the World Health Organisation last Friday advised that countries should ensure that the following criteria are met before they lift restrictions:

• Covid-19 transmission is controlled
• Their health systems have the capacity to detect, test, isolate and treat every case of Covid-19 and trace every contact of those infected
• Outbreak risks are minimised in special settings
• Preventative measures against Covid-19 infection are in place in essential places that people go to such as workplaces, schools, etc.
• Importation risks are managed
• Communities are fully educated and engaged to adjust to the “new norm”.

A Difficult Decision Especially for Poor Countries

Obviously Zimbabwe does not fulfil any of these criteria, so extending the lockdown seems necessary.  The spread of Covid-19 is probably just starting in Zimbabwe.  Our health services are not equipped to handle a large pandemic, therefore containing its spread is still vital.  But it needs careful thought and plans put in place.  It also need government to fully explain their decisions.  Authoritarian Governments find it easier to impose their decisions on their people but in democracies, governments need to carry the people with them in their decisions.

There is no doubt that Covid-19 is having a deadly impact on the economies of all countries affected by it and the subsequent lockdowns are necessary to prevent its spread.  Even in rich countries the choice seems to be between peoples’ lives or a plummeting economy.  Most countries have put the lives and health of their citizens first, but in a poor country where there are desperate food shortages the choice is more complex.  In Zimbabwe, where most people are in the informal economy, the impact of lockdown on their livelihoods and their networks of dependants is very great.  Social and economic cushioning is very limited in Zimbabwe, as in other poorer countries.

Many countries have had to use their security forces – usually police – to enforce lockdown restrictions, but when people are forced to break restrictions to get food or water conflict between security forces and citizens can become acute.  In Zimbabwe the conduct of the police was criticised by the President after officers were filmed burning vegetables confiscated from farmers in Mutare.  President Mnangagwa then said it was critical that food markets be allowed to function during the national lockdown.  As a consequence food markets have been exempted from the tough lockdown regulations, though this exemption has been done administratively rather than through an amendment of the relevant law.  It would have been better if the exemption had been planned in advance rather than granted off the cuff, as it were.  Food markets are crowded and social distancing is not observed, and when the exemption was granted no provision was made to protect the people thronging to them.  The police themselves have obviously not been told to take precautions and practise social distancing.

An Extension Should be Planned and Announced in Advance

Veritas strongly believes that if there is to be an extension of the national lockdown it should be announced in advance in order to prepare the members of the public, businesses, the education sector, etc.  The parameters of the restrictions should be made clear in regulations or orders and these should be made known to all law enforcement agents.

A key part of the strategy on dealing with Covid-19 that has been used in other countries is to build public trust in the leadership and the information that the public receive.  The Government should invest in a communication strategy which informs every member of society about measures that it will be taking in dealing with the pandemic.  Any extension of the lockdown must be communicated in time and its purpose explained.  Exemptions should be clear and the health of those exempted need to be fully protected.  If food markets and places where the public can get water remain open and accessible the security forces should be instructed on how they can help persuade people to practise social distancing and washing of hands and contaminated surfaces, rather than beating up people.

The Government should therefore expend energy on trust building and effective communication that allows forward planning by the public as this is key to the success of the fight against Covid-19.

Veritas makes every effort to ensure reliable information, but cannot take legal responsibility for information supplied.

Post published in: Featured

* A Florida attorney is suing over his county’s COVID-19-related curfew, arguing that “[i]t’s not like the virus is Count Dracula.” With an argument like that, he can’t lose. [New York Post]

* A husband and wife (who were both lawyers) were found dead in their Chicago home on Monday under suspicious circumstances. [NBC News]

* The top lawyer at Twitter saw his pay decrease last year, but don’t worry, he still makes millions of dollars annually. [Bloomberg Law]

* An attorney won around $106,000 during a five-day winning streak on Jeopardy! Should cover about a year’s worth of law school loans… [Online Athens]

* Selena Gomez has filed a $10 million lawsuit against a game developer for the unauthorized use of her likeness. [Variety]

* A lawyer has discovered a way to make face shields from plastic covers on legal documents. Is this attorney named MacGyver? [ABA Journal]

Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.

1.0       Introduction
On day 16 of the National Lockdown declared by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 27 March 2020 followed by the gazetting of SI 83 of 2020 Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) on 28 March 2020, official statistics by the Ministry of Health and Child Care indicated that COVID-19 confirmed cases had increased to eighteen (18), whilst the number of deaths relating to COVID-19 remained at three (3). The cumulative tests conducted is 665 of which 647 were negative.The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care Dr A. Mahomva issued a letter directed at all Provincial Medical Directors, Chief Executive Officers of Government Hospitals, All-City Health Directors and Private Hospitals with a strategy to increase active screening for COVID-19. In the letter, she highlighted the Ministry’s intention to have tested thirty-three thousand (33,000) people by the end of April 2020 and gave a breakdown of categories to be tested. The letter was ostensibly issued in response to a consent judgment entered into before the High Court, details of which are provided below.

2.0       Methodology

This report encompasses reports covering the 10 provinces of the country through reports received from the following Forum Members:

• Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP)
• Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
• Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
• Counselling Services Unit (CSU)
• Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights, (ZADHR)
• Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights)

Post published in: Featured

THREE organisations representing people who are visually impaired and Deaf have sued government
and the state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) demanding to be provided with information
on coronavirus in a format which is accessible to them.

Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League Of The Blind argued that the
rights of persons with disabilities have been infringed and continue to be infringed by government and
ZBC during a public health emergency crisis triggered by the coronavirus pandemic as there is a lack of
access to information in a format that is accessible to persons with disabilities, notably Deaf and Hard of
Hearing people and the blind and partially sighted persons.

ZBC, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Hon. Monica Mutsvangwa, Health and
Child Care Minister Hon. Obadiah Moyo and Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Hon.
Paul Mavima have been cited as respondents to the application by Centre for Disability and
Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the Blind.

As applicants, the Centre for Disability and Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National
League of the Blind, represented by Denford Halimani and Doug Coltart of Zimbabwe Lawyers for
Human Rights, argued that given the state of public health emergency and the national lockdown, there
is need for ZBC to have sign language as part of its programming to enable the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
people to be fully informed about the coronavirus pandemic and continuous changes effected on
compliance with the national lockdown by the citizens and any subsequent measures taken by
government.

The Centre for Disability And Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the
Blind argued that there is a need for all other official communications by government ministries involved
in the fight against coronavirus to be produced in formats which are accessible to persons with disabilities,
including blind and partially sighted persons, through the use of Braille pamphlets, and audio versions,
large print versions, and digital readable-text versions of official communications.

Failure to provide information on coronavirus in a format accessible to persons with disabilities, the
applicants said, is not only a violation of the rights of those persons to equality, of access to information
and other constitutional rights, but it also poses a grave danger to them, their members, and their
beneficiaries who may be unknowingly exposed to the deadly disease as well as to the general public
who may also be infected with the disease by persons with disabilities if they are not given equal access
to information about the disease and empowered to take necessary measures to prevent its spread.
Centre for Disability and Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe National League of the Blind
want the High Court to order ZBC to immediately provide sign language and/or captions in all its content
on Zimbabwe Television (ZTV) pertaining to the coronavirus epidemic during and after the National
Lockdown for the benefit of the deaf and hard of hearing people in Zimbabwe.

Hon. Mutsvangwa and Hon. Moyo, the applicants said, should immediately cause the production of
pamphlets with information about coronavirus in Braille and to distribute the same information to visually
impaired persons throughout Zimbabwe and ensure that all written information related to coronavirus
provided by government is also made available in formats accessible to visually impaired and partially
sighted persons, such as audio versions, large text, and/or readable digital text, and distributed to the
intended beneficiaries.

Hon. Moyo, the applicants said, should also ensure that the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare’s
coronavirus hotlines and centres are staffed with persons who are equipped to deal with the unique needs
of persons with disabilities while Hon. Mavima must facilitate that Hon. Mutsvangwa and Hon. Moyo
ensure that Braille materials and any other coronavirus-related materials intended for persons with
disabilities are delivered to the intended recipients.

Hon. Mutsvangwa, the Centre for Disability and Development, Deaf Zimbabwe Trust and Zimbabwe
National League of the Blind said, must immediately issue a statement urging private entities, including
mass media and hospitals, to ensure that any services they provide to the public relating to coronavirus
including information, testing and treatment are accessible to persons with disabilities.
The application will be heard and determined on Monday 20 April 2020 by High Court Judge Justice
Joseph Mafusire.

Post published in: Featured

The National Conference of Bar Examiners recently wrote a report exhorting jurisdictions to reject any manifestation of diploma privilege admission and recognize that only an NCBE-produced bar exam could guarantee attorney competency. Which state’s bar examination did NCBE President and CEO Judith Gundersen take to become a licensed attorney?

Hint: It’s the same bar exam her predecessor Erica Moeser took!

See the answer on the next page.

I don’t know about you, but I feel like Bill Murray in the movie Groundhog Day.

I need to take a break from “all Covid-19 coverage all the time,” and so I’m returning to one of my favorite topics “What were they thinking?” Judges, lawyers, and even a law student this go-around.

Let’s start with the Superior Court judge in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles on the coast. The California Commission on Judicial Performance has publicly censured Judge Jeffrey Bennet for making stupid, bone-headed, racist and sexist remarks. The conduct had been going on for more than a decade until the whistle was finally blown.

Examples of remarks included, but not limited to (as we lawyers like to say), the following:

When an African-American defendant appeared in a criminal matter, the judge thought that he was being evasive and told the defendant to stop “shucking and jiving.”

More than one time in the presence of a female deputy district attorney, the judge said that he was “the only one in the courthouse with the balls to make that ruling” or words to that effect.

“Balls” was a popular word in the judge’s vocabulary. After he admitted that he had ruled incorrectly on a motion to suppress, he said that he had probably had the “biggest balls in the courthouse” to admit that error. He made a gesture in his genital area. How did he know that he had the “biggest balls in the courthouse?” Did he do a size comparison? Did he “drop trou” and compare?

The judge commented on the number of peremptory challenges that the District Attorney’s Office was filing, asking, “Why are you guys papering me?”  I could go on and on, but you get the flavor of the conduct. Exhibit 1 for a case of robe-itis.

The Commission found that the conduct (and there were 26 examples) violated the Canons of Judicial Ethics and constituted prejudicial misconduct. The judge’s comments were “…offensive, undignified, dishonest, discourteous, sexist, profane, and create the appearance of bias and retaliation.” Pretty complete catalogue of adjectives.

Often in these cases, the judge under scrutiny denies the charges, claims victimhood, or in some other way tries to offload his own responsibility for ending up in this pickle. Kudos to this judge who didn’t try to squirm his way out. He stipulated to the truth of the charges and that was a significant mitigating factor that prompted the Commission to impose public censure, one step below removal.

What this shows is that the Commission appreciates “coming clean.” An example of throwing oneself on the mercy of the court, so to speak. This judge did and has saved his job. Whether he’ll keep it in the future is to be determined.

Meanwhile, two judges in New York have resigned after pleading guilty to felonies.

One was for garden-variety tax evasion. The other judge resigned after pleading guilty to — wait for it — attempted burglary based on the theft of an intern’s panties.

No, I am not making this up and yes, I am going to resist the temptation to let loose with a string of underwear puns, although the temptation is almost overwhelming.

Then there’s the matter of the attorney who was sanctioned $1,000 along with attorneys fees and costs for interrupting a deposition 145 times and making 106 objections. The deposition transcript was only 255 pages long. So, if you divide 255 by 145….

Do you think that attorneys will ever learn to conduct depositions without sniping? Do attorneys know how this kind of conduct looks to a court that will have to rule on what usually are trivial disputes of ego? Will we ever grow up? Or has the profession become the playground for kids who don’t — or won’t — learn how to play together?

Then there’s a New Jersey judge who told the wife and the girlfriend, in a hearing on what to do with certain provocative photos, that they had been played by the husband/boyfriend. The judge called him a “knucklehead.” (I haven’t heard that term used in years.) That was not the first time that this judge had made intemperate remarks. This time he was censured.

The judge had previously been ordered to take sensitivity training some years back after receiving private reprimands for discourtesy. What is the “stickiness” of sensitivity training? How long does it last? Should judges be required to take sensitivity training every certain number of years? Of course, even if they complete the courses, there’s no guarantee that anything learned in the training will last longer than the length of the class.

A lawyer in Kansas was suspended for two years for having forged the signatures of a judge and a clerk on a court document. What was she thinking? There were other instances of misconduct that the Kansas Supreme Court also considered. Why would anyone ever risk a forgery of any document, let alone a court document? Mental health issues played a part in the misconduct, which is why it’s so important to pay attention to those concerns and not ignore them.

Have you ever run from police after stiffing the tab for a $200 lap dance? This attorney has.

And last, but not least, there is the Harvard Law student who brought a weapon to his Zoom class. I didn’t know that there was a show-and-tell portion in any law school class. Is it now “bring a gun, go to law school?”  There are no words.

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.

Throughout the Biglaw COVID-19 cost-cutting measures it’s been clear that the most severe move — one most firms try to avoid — is layoffs. Unfortunately, not every firm is able to avoid letting folks go during the global pandemic.

As reported by Daily Business Review, Am Law 200 firm Greenspoon Marder has confirmed that, in anticipation of revenue shortfalls, they’ve instituted firmwide pay cuts and laid off employees. According to reports, 40 staff members and 5 attorneys have been let go.

Firm co-founders Gerry Greenspoon and Michael Marder had this to say about the cuts:

“There is no question that our firm, like every other firm in the country, will experience a loss of previously projected revenue as a result of this unmatched global business slowdown,” said Marder and Greenspoon. “As a result, our firm has decided to implement various cost-cutting measures in order to preemptively parallel this unexpected impact upon revenue with currently anticipated costs and expenses. It is our sincere and honest hope that many of these reductions will be temporary.”

If your firm or organization is slashing salaries, closing its doors, or reducing the ranks of its lawyers or staff, whether through open layoffs, stealth layoffs, or voluntary buyouts, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Our vast network of tipsters is part of what makes Above the Law thrive. You can email us or text us (646-820-8477).

If you’d like to sign up for ATL’s Layoff Alerts, please scroll down and enter your email address in the box below this post. If you previously signed up for the layoff alerts, you don’t need to do anything. You’ll receive an email notification within minutes of each layoff, salary cut, or furlough announcement that we publish.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).