{"id":131407,"date":"2023-10-03T08:08:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-03T08:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/?p=131407"},"modified":"2023-10-03T08:08:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-03T08:08:09","slug":"judge-steps-aside-after-hot-mic-zoom-kept-recording-after-hearings-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluemull.com\/world-news\/judge-steps-aside-after-hot-mic-zoom-kept-recording-after-hearings-end\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge steps aside after \u2018hot mic\u2019 Zoom kept recording after hearing\u2019s end"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A former County Court judge has voluntarily stood aside from a hearing she was presiding over after she neglected to turn off a Zoom recording that captured her discussing the case with a visiting judge.<\/p>\n

Judge Pamela Jenkins, a member of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for more than a decade, was recorded in April telling Japanese judge Chihiro Morita, who was observing Melbourne courts as part of a research program: \u201cRight, we are alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Judge Pamela Jenkins, pictured in 2015.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Josh Robenstone<\/cite><\/p>\n

In the recording, which was tendered to the Tribunal and reviewed by this masthead, Jenkins went on to describe the approach of the plaintiff as being \u201ccompletely unrealistic\u201d, which the plaintiff\u2019s lawyers later claimed showed the judge had made findings in the case before its conclusion.<\/p>\n

The judge\u2019s comments were recorded at the end of a directions hearing for a discrimination case brought by former bank worker Katherine Bashour against the ANZ bank.<\/p>\n

After the other parties left the Zoom meeting, Jenkins asked Morita to stay on to discuss \u201csome other thing unrelated\u201d, before describing the case in detail to the visiting judge.<\/p>\n

This included an allegation Bashour had sought to have evidence withdrawn from proceedings because it was \u201ctriggering\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer psychologist called it a triggering event,\u201d Jenkins said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo she\u2019s now having flashbacks and traumatic stress and has asked for that report to be taken out of the \u2013 to be removed from the tribunal file, it\u2019s completely outrageous, to which I said no. The ANZ is not going to be forced to not rely upon evidence that is relevant for them … [and] the tribunal is not going to be dictated to by some psychologist.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge went on: \u201cUnfortunately, I think the applicant is being completely unrealistic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenkins \u2013 who retired as a County Court judge in 2017 \u2013 added: \u201cShe\u2019s saying because of the state that she\u2019s in, she wants all of these conditions attached to the way the hearing is to be conducted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the conditions \u2013 we didn\u2019t get to it \u2013 was she doesn\u2019t like certain things that one of the solicitors has said, so she didn\u2019t want that solicitor … one of the solicitors for the ANZ … she didn\u2019t want to have to see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point, Jenkins laughed. \u201cI\u2019m sorry; he\u2019s a solicitor for the ANZ, I\u2019m not going to exclude him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In another section of the recording, Jenkins joked she \u201creally didn\u2019t want to have an in-person hearing\u201d for the case because it would require her to travel into the city every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t done that for years, it just wastes so much time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Unbeknown to either judge, the Zoom recording had continued while they were on the line, and their lengthy exchange was captured in official audio recordings of the court. Bashour discovered the recording after requesting a copy of the audio of the April 6 hearings.<\/p>\n

Jenkins stood aside from the case in May. This masthead approached VCAT multiple times to seek comment from Jenkins, but a VCAT spokesman declined to provide a response. Jenkins remains a senior member at VCAT.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Katherine Bashour appearing at the Federal Court in 2014 for hearing involving the ANZ bank.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Paul Jeffers<\/cite><\/p>\n

Bashour\u2019s long-running case against the ANZ is now proceeding with a new judge, VCAT vice-president Caitlin English, who will determine whether Bashour suffered discrimination while on maternity leave, and whether she resigned willingly or was forced to resign.<\/p>\n

Bashour\u2019s legal team have argued her mental health was further damaged by the discovery of the Jenkins audio. A letter sent by Bashour\u2019s lawyers to the VCAT court registry in August said: \u201cThe circumstances leading to the order made by Judge Jenkins on 5 May 2023 that her honour stands aside from the further conduct of the proceedings has caused a significant deterioration to the health of the applicant. The applicant is still receiving treatment from her treating psychologist in relation to those events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bashour launched legal action in 2014, seeking an urgent injunction to stop the bank firing her. She claimed the bank\u2019s demands and threats were part of an effort to punish her for lodging discrimination complaints and separate court action against it.<\/p>\n

Her long-running case against the ANZ rests on alleged discrimination under the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.<\/p>\n

English listed the matter for trial, starting February 15. It will be the fifth time the matter has been listed for trial.<\/p>\n

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