By Erin Pearson
Two Melbourne lawyers accused of doctoring a medical certificate to get a client out of a court appearance have failed to have their cases hidden from the public after they were charged with perverting the course of justice.
Zoe Davis, 34, and Rachelle Badour-Taha, 25, had their cases called in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, when their defence lawyers withdrew an application, opposed by this masthead, to suppress their names on mental health grounds.
Lawyers Zoe Davis (left) and Rachelle Badour-Taha outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court last week.Credit: Chris Hopkins
Davis and Badour-Taha are accused of altering a medical certificate for a woman they were acting for, who was charged with traffic matters and due to face Frankston Magistrates’ Court on September 23 last year.
Detective Senior Constable Jamie Shanks said that on the morning of the client’s hearing at Frankston, Badour-Taha emailed the court with a letter purportedly from a medical professional stating their client could not attend court that day.
The court registrar noticed inconsistencies with the document and questioned its validity, the detective said.
Further inquiries were made, Shanks said, and revealed the client was never a patient at Northpark Private Hospital in Bundoora.
Davis and Badour-Taha are accused of doctoring a document for a client they were acting for.Credit: Chris Hopkins
The lawyers were arrested in December and June, and were this month both charged with perverting the course of justice, attempting to pervert the course of justice and using a false document.
The court has heard that police had since tracked down the original document holder – a former client of Davis’ firm, ZD Legal, from 2022 – who provided a statement to say it was her document but that the wording had been changed. The client whose case was before the Frankston court is not charged over the document.
Rachelle Badour-Taha.
The Victorian Legal Services Board has been made aware of the allegations against the lawyers, the court heard.
Defence barrister Damian Sheales said his client Davis, a practising solicitor who owns a $3 million Melbourne home, revealed that police first executed search warrants on her firm in September, soon after the Frankston hearing was adjourned.
Sheales said that the morning of the Frankston hearing appeared to have been chaotic and disorganised, and the allegation against Davis was that she falsely asserted why her client was unable to attend court.
On Wednesday, Sheales abandoned a fight to suppress the case on mental health grounds, which included Davis having epilepsy and ADHD, and instead argued that information about her should be kept secret. Davis and Badour-Taha were not in court on Wednesday.
Magistrate Tara Hartnett ultimately rejected the application and said the principles of open justice were paramount.
On Wednesday, Davis, who advertises herself as a traffic law specialist, failed to appear before a magistrate in the Neighbourhood Justice Centre in Collingwood after being charged with speeding in a 40km/h zone in a work car.
Davis was also fined $385 for speeding in a 40km/h zone.
Magistrate Noreen Toohey said Davis was captured on traffic safety cameras driving 12km/h over the marked speed limit in a company car in the Burnley Tunnel at Southbank in August 2023.
Toohey said that among a bundle of documents in her possession was an earlier request to adjourn the matter from June to this week as Davis was overseas and unable to attend court.
That request, Toohey said, was emailed to the court by Badour-Taha, a solicitor and Davis’ ZD Legal colleague.
Toohey said the court had received no explanation for Davis’ absence on Wednesday.
“It’s a bit puzzling,” the magistrate said.
Toohey ultimately heard the charge in Davis’ absence and fined her $385 without conviction. Davis was seen sitting in a Melbourne cafe on Wednesday afternoon while the Collingwood court hearing was heard without her there.
ZD Legal, which has offices in Melbourne and Sydney, had its website recently removed. It previously stated that Davis was a criminal traffic and commercial litigation lawyer.
Davis and Badour-Taha are due to return to court over the documents case in October.
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