THE MATTER OF THE BERMUDA BAR ACT 1974
AND IN THE MATTER OF NORMAN MACDONALD
On 11 June 2018, Mr. Norman MacDonald (“Mr. MacDonald”) was charged and pleaded not guilty to improper conduct contrary to Rule 43(viii) of the Barristers’ Code of Professional Conduct 1981.
A Disciplinary Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) was appointed under the provisions of the Bermuda Bar Act 1974 to hear the complaint against Mr. MacDonald of improper conduct in that on or about 15 August 2017, Mr. MacDonald, in the course of cross-examination, unreasonably questioned a witness about her sexual orientation when he knew or should have known that her sexual orientation had no relevance to the facts in issue and that such questioning could or would have the effect of humiliating and/or embarrassing the witness.
On 12 December 2019, the Tribunal ruled that Mr. MacDonald had a right to a fair hearing of the charge against him within a reasonable time.
On 5 October 2020 the Tribunal dismissed the charges against Mr. MacDonald and ruled that to proceed further would, in all the circumstances, be unfair, and prejudicial to Mr. MacDonald and amount to a violation of his constitutional right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time.
Registrar of the Court
Dated this day of December 2020