The difficulties of Paul Ngobeni, the deputy registrar (legal services and secretariat) at the University of Cape Town, deepened last Friday after he suffered legal setbacks in the civil, criminal, and family courts in Connecticut.

In his criminal case a judge upheld his motion to dismiss on only one count (that of unauthorised practice of law) leaving four others standing. In his civil case a second judge denied his motion to have an earlier order set aside disbarring him from the practice of law for thirteen years. Although Ngobeni was meant to appear in person at this hearing, he was unable to after a state marshal arrested him on a capias that had been issued by a third judge in the family court in early August.

In Ngobeni's civil case Judge James P. Graham denied his motion to have an earlier default judgment, disbarring him from the practice of law for thirteen years, set aside. This means that the October 17 order still stands. UCT had granted Ngobeni a week's leave to appear in court in Connecticut on Friday.

However, shortly before he was due to appear he was taken into custody by a state marshal on a capias connected to an unrelated family court matter. This had been issued on August 3 2007 by Judge Jorge Simon of the Hartford family court after Ngobeni had failed to appear for a hearing. Ngobeni posted bail on Friday and will be appearing in the Hartford family court early this week.

On Monday Ngobeni filed an emergency motion to have the disbarment matter re-heard. He stated that "At the time the Court proceeded with the hearing and issued its ruling" he was incarcerated and thus prevented from being physically present in court. He argued that under these circumstances it would be "unjust and inequitable" to deny him a re-hearing.

In a judgment on his criminal case, also issued on Friday, Judge Robaina upheld Ngobeni's motion to have the charge of unauthorised practice of law dismissed. The relevant statute under which he was being prosecuted stated that "a person who has not been admitted as an attorney" may not practice law. The judge ruled that since Ngobeni had been admitted as an attorney, even if he was under suspension, this provision could not be read as applying to him.

The judge however denied Ngobeni's motion to have the entire case against him thrown out of court. Ngobeni had called for this on the basis that "this prosecution is vindictive" and because of "proven prosecutorial misconduct."

The judgment noted that "reading the allegations contained in this portion of the defendant's motion to dismiss, one is forced to wade through fields of ad hominem attacks." The judge found that "there is no credible allegation or fact to support the claim of vindictiveness or animus." Accordingly, the court denied the motion to dismiss on either of these grounds.

This means that four of the five criminal counts against Ngobeni still stand: These are larceny in the sixth degree; forgery in the third degree; larceny in the fourth degree; and, larceny in the third degree.

At the time of writing a new court date had yet to be set for the criminal case.