Scenarios: What would you do?

Consider the scenarios below and jot down whether the activity is appropriate or not for a magistrate.

A. Judicial activism

A1 Political causes (1 to 5)

1. A certain bill is currently before Parliament that gives the Minister the sole discretion to consider
   applications for promotion or transfers of magistrates. You and most of your colleagues around the country feel that this encroaches severely upon your independence as ajudicial officer and are opposed to the passing of the Bill. Carte Blanche has asked you to do an interview on the show in which you express your views on the proposed bill. Would it be appropriate for you to do this?
   
   
   
2. Before appointment to the bench you were a very active member of the Freedom Alliance, a
   political party, and you sat on many of its committees. Upon appointment to the bench do you have to sever ties with the party, in other words, must your active involvement with them cease?
   
   

3. Can a magistrate write to the newspapers commenting on the evils of war, in a situation such as the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in 2003?
   
   

4. Would it be appropriate for a magistrate to express his or her opinions on the government's AIDS policy?
   
   

5. Would it be appropriate for a magistrate to publish a pamphlet that describes various incidents of human rights abuses at the hands of the current government and which is distributed locally and abroad to various human rights organisations such as Amnesty International?

A2 Non-political causes (6 to 9)

6. Is it appropriate for you to address schools and various women's groups in the area on rape and the remedies available to the survivor?
   
   

7. You preside over juvenile court and recently you have noticed a significant upsurge in the number of juvenile offenders. You have an idea to produce an incentive to curb the crime rate amongst juveniles. You want to run a competition, where the school in the area that has the least amount of offenders in a period of six months, will win a prize of R100 000 to be used to install computers and an internet service for the pupils. Can you organise such an incentive scheme and, if so, what would be the best way of going about it?
   
   

8. Can you sign a petition to have a shelter opened for battered women?
   
   

9. Can you join a march organised by People Opposing Abortion?
   

B. Membership of clubs and organisations and fundraising (10 to 13)

10. You are a very religious person and you have always been actively involved in the affairs of your religious institution and you sit on several of its committees. Upon appointment to the bench can you continue to be as involved as before or would this be inappropriate?
    
    

11. Can you join a golf club that does not allow women to play on Saturday mornings?




12. Can you be a member of the SPCA?
    
    

13. Can you do fundraising for the SPCA?

C. Holding other positions and receiving remuneration (14 to 17)

14. Would it be appropriate for you to sit on the Board of Trustees of a private hospital?
    
    

15. Your child attends the local high school. Can you sit on the school board?
    
    

16. Your father has died and has left you the family business, which is a restaurant. The business has been in the family for years and you are the only descendant. Would it be appropriate for you to continue running the business while you are on the bench?
    
    

17. Can you accept an invitation to lecture candidate attorneys at a Practical Legal Training Course
    organised by the Law Society?

D. Restrictions on social behaviour (18 to 20)

18. Can you enter a reality TV programme such as Big Brother or Survivor where you are under 24-
    hour surveillance?
    
    

19. You are a member of a private casino and you gamble there most weekends. Your head of office has asked you to refrain from doing this. What do you do?
    
    

20. Is it appropriate for a magistrate to get drunk in a bar and start dancing on the tables and singing along to the music when no one else is doing this? Would it be different if the magistrate were at private function and all the guests were behaving in the same way?