The outing came just days after another lawyer and her partner, the son of a district court judge, fled to Wanaka and became the target of public anger.
In his own words, lawyer Umar Kuddus said he felt “locked up at home” because the government took strict measures from August last year in an attempt to prevent the spread of the delta variant.
Due to the 28-year-old’s brutal use of social media, his foray south of the alert level 4 border did not go unnoticed.
Kuddus, who is largely involved in civil and commercial lawsuits, emailed the Hamilton District Court on Sept. 15 about a financial assessment hearing he would attend two days later. In the same message, he also noted that he was unable to travel from Auckland to the hearing and requested that it be held by telephone.
Despite the court agreeing, Kuddus drove to the southern border at 8 a.m. on September 17 in an attempt to gain relative freedom from Waikato’s Level 2.
He had no work exemption, nor did Kuddus have a personal exemption from crossing the border, according to court papers released to the Herald.
During his trip, Kuddus posted several times on Facebook and Instagram.
In a selfie from the driver’s seat, viewed by the Herald, he said, “Promise me I won’t fly to Wanaka.”
The reference to the seaside town of Central Otago came just six days after police were tipped off about fellow Auckland lawyer Hannah Rawnsley and horse rider William Willis fleeing the super city for a holiday home.
Willis was later convicted and ordered to pay a $750 fine, while Rawnsley’s request to discharge without conviction was granted and she was ordered to pay $500 to charities.
In another social media post during his field trip, Kuddus uploaded a photo of himself driving to the police border control at Mercer and wrote, “Auckland’s version of Checkpoint Charlie.”
Checkpoint Charlie was the most infamous intersection on the Berlin Wall during the Cold War.
Kuddus stopped at a gas station and the courthouse in Hamilton before driving back to Auckland. The financial assessment hearing took place over the phone while he was driving, but the lawyer had left a trail of evidence.
Due to his brutal use of social media, another lawyer at law firm Meredith Connell brought Kuddus’ day trip to the attention of the police, the Herald has understood.
After being charged with failing to comply with a Covid-19 warrant, Kuddus initially represented himself in the lawsuit, including when he pleaded guilty in April.
However, after an early 1am illness excuse for a postponement of his original sentencing date last month, police opened a new investigation.
Police visited Kuddus’ employer, law firm Patel Nand Legal, and confirmed that Kuddus had correctly tested positive for Covid-19.
After this, Kuddus’ boss and director of the company, Radhe Nand, acted on his behalf and requested his resignation without conviction.
Last week, at the rescheduled sentencing hearing in the Pukekohe District Court, Kuddus also considered, but ultimately decided to withdraw his plea and defend the charges.
Nand said that if convicted, Kuddus could lose his practice certificate and job with the company.
Judge John McDonald replied, “Of course you lose your job if you lose your practice certificate.”
But the judge, who conducted the hearing via video link from Whangārei, found it “highly unlikely” that the NZ Law Society would take proceedings to remove Kuddus from the role of lawyers and solicitors.
Kuddus was also admitted to the Supreme Court of New South Wales as a legal practitioner in September 2020.
Nand had argued that Kuddus was unaware that his journey south would violate the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act.
He said Kuddus tested negative for Covid-19 before leaving Auckland, “had absolutely no symptoms”, and that his trip “didn’t harm anyone”.
Nand also said Kuddus was not aware of the Chief Justice’s memos to all legal practitioners in August and September last year.
Helen Winkelmann’s statements clearly stated that no lawyer was required or expected to cross the Auckland border to attend court hearings. It was also stipulated that if a lawyer finds the need to cross the border, this must be discussed in advance with the presiding judge.
“If He Knew It Existed” [of the memos] he wouldn’t have traveled,’ Nand said.
Judge McDonald said he had doubts about Kuddus’ claim that he was unaware of the Chief’s Justice’s messages.
Nand further argued that Kuddus’ joyride was “not disguised” and that police at the checkpoint received a court letter about the Hamilton hearing.
But Judge McDonald said police at the border would have accepted that Kuddus was telling the truth.
Prosecutor Todd Simmonds opposed the dismissal offer without conviction, saying, “As a lawyer, Mr Kuddus should have known better.”
“There was no compelling basis or necessity for Mr Kuddus to travel to Hamilton that day for what can only be described as a minor [court] appearance.”
Simmonds said it appeared that Kuddus was “feeling somewhat trapped by the ongoing lockdown” and sought reprieve.
In an affidavit from Kuddus, he said, “I’ve been locked up at home for so long” and felt unable to do what he loved: litigate.
However, Judge McDonald told him that others in the community have “missed much more important events”.
People adhering to the Covid-19 rules, he said, were unable to attend funerals and tangis, weddings, visit relatives who were seriously ill or see newborn babies.
“I’m sure we all felt, to some degree, that we were trapped,” Judge McDonald said.
“Fortunately, the vast majority of New Zealanders adhered to the rules.”
Judge McDonald, while Kuddus had expressed remorse, said “my opinion is you’re sorry you got caught.”
New Zealand’s largest city spent 107 days in lockdown from 17 August last year, which former Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins admitted on TVNZ last month may have taken too long.
“Aucklanders have paid a great price for our continued suppression of Delta as we increased our vaccination rates,” he told Q+A.
In addition to convicting Kuddus, Judge McDonald fined the attorney $900 and ordered him to pay $130 in court costs.
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