The Discipline Hearing Panel of the Law Society of Manitoba dismissed a motion brought by an accused attorney
On July 16, 2019 this Panel met to commence a hearing into certain charges of professional misconduct against Vibhu Raj Jhanji, a member of the Law Society of Manitoba. The charges are contained in a citation dated December 18, 2018 (the “Citation”), which was entered as Exhibit 1 in these proceedings.
Mr. Jhanji brought a preliminary motion, which was entered as Exhibit 2. By that motion he sought a variety of relief, including an order disqualifying Mr. Kravetsky from prosecuting the charges in the Citation; an order staying this hearing pending the outcome of a complaint made by him to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission against the Law Society of Manitoba; and an order directing the Complaints Investigation Committee (the “CIC”) to reconsider the charges in the Citation and take different action.
Claim against prosecutor
Mr. Jhanji argued that Mr. Kravetsky’s attitude and approach to his prosecution of the charges in the Citation reflect some animus against him by Mr. Kravetsky. In his view, he has been unfairly singled out from the profession as a whole, and been made to submit to this disciplinary process without reasonable cause.
Response
The Law Society argues that Mr. Jhanji’s motion must fail for this simple reason: he has led no relevant evidence to support his motion. On the subject of Mr. Kravetsky’s disqualification, he has led no evidence of a conflict of interest, bias or any other legal ground. On the subject of a stay of proceedings, he has led no evidence that he faces a real risk of prejudice that outweighs the public’s interest in the timely disposition of the charges against him if the stay is not granted.
Motion dismissed but
None of this should be taken to mean that the charges against Mr. Jhanji will be proven. This Panel has not made any findings on the merits of those charges. The allegations in the Citation will be the subject of this hearing when it resumes.
(Mike Frisch)