Frum Attorney Leaves Courtroom to Make it in Time for Shabbos

By COLlive reporter

This past Friday was day four of the Zachary Young v. CNN trial, in which a former Navy veteran is suing the news network for defamation and seeking up to one billion dollars in damages.

Young claims a 2021 segment that aired on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” falsely painted him as an “illegal profiteer” exploiting “desperate Afghans” with “exorbitant” extraction fees amid the fallout of President Joe Biden‘s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Young is the president of Florida-based corporation Nemex Enterprises. His claims sue CNN for defamation per se, defamation by implication, group libel and trade libel, claiming that his efforts to save lives in Afghanistan as a security consultant were distorted by “lies published for sensationalism.”

Young’s lead counsel is Devin “Velvel” Freedman, a frum litigator who is a founding partner of Freedman Normand Friedland LLP and a member of The Shul of Harbour in Surfside, Florida.

The high-stakes lawsuit has been airing live from the Bay County Courthouse in Panama City, Florida, on Fox News Digital and the Law&Crime Network and has garnered much media attention.

Freedman stunned many during the hearing when he was seen on Friday afternoon closing his laptop and packing up his briefcase. Footage from the courtroom then showed someone else taking his place.

Speaking with COLlive.com, Freedman’s wife Chyena Freedman said he did that to give himself enough time to get to his room at a nearby hotel, where he would spend Shabbos.

When he realized the court proceedings would conclude just minutes before Shabbos, Chyena Freedman told COLlive, “He knew there was no way he could stay.”

Freedman, therefore, excused himself from the courtroom, leaving his team of lawyers to take over in his absence. “Thankfully, both the court and counsel were very understanding,” Freedman said.

She said that his actions earned him tremendous respect from everyone present and created a Kiddush Hashem.

“My children will one day learn about their father’s prominent role in some of the most high-profile situations,” his wife commented. “But nothing makes me prouder than sharing with them the story of this past Friday and the remarkable Kiddush Hashem my husband brought about.”