Bruce Lehrmann can’t afford a barrister to characterize him in an attraction in opposition to his misplaced defamation case and deserves substantial damages as a result of he’s “a nationwide joke”, the federal courtroom has heard.
Lehrmann is interesting Justice Michael Lee’s April 2024 judgment, which discovered the previous Liberal staffer was not defamed by Lisa Wilkinson and Community 10 when The Venture broadcast an interview with Brittany Higgins in 2021 wherein she alleged she was raped in Parliament Home.
Opening the three-day attraction listening to, Lehrmann’s lawyer, Zali Burrows, apologised to the total bench of the federal courtroom, justices Michael Wigney, Craig Colvin and Wendy Abraham, for her shopper’s failure to nominate an skilled barrister.
Introducing her argument for substantial damages ought to the courtroom uphold any of the grounds for attraction, Burrows stated her shopper was vilified in conventional and social media. “He’s just about grow to be the nationwide joke … [and] Australia’s most hated man,” Burrows stated.
Burrows stated Lehrmann “actually needed” Sydney barrister Man Reynolds, SC, however “couldn’t afford” him so she would seem as a substitute, and Lehrmann would sit beside her.
“I hope you don’t thoughts Mr Lehrmann becoming a member of me on the bar desk,” she stated.
Enroll: AU Breaking Information e mail
Burrows is a legal defence lawyer and never an skilled barrister, a reality she identified to the bench when she stated she was up in opposition to high silks Matt Collins KC, for Ten, and Sue Chrysanthou SC, for Wilkinson.
Justice Wigney assured Burrows she was effectively certified, however did instruct her on among the guidelines of the courtroom as she introduced her submissions. He reminded her she didn’t must learn out passages and may reference them as a substitute.
“Sorry, What? What? What’s the relevance of this for those who don’t thoughts me asking?” Wigney stated in response to Burrows elevating the Logies speech given by Wilkinson when she received an award for the interview with Higgins.
When Burrows characterised Lee’s judgment as one which discovered a “non-violent rape” had occurred, Colvin stated: “I’m unsure he discovered a non-violent rape, and I’m unsure that’s an idea I perceive.”
Burrows was repeatedly questioned by the justices about her 4 grounds of attraction.
On the primary of those grounds – that Lehrmann was denied procedural equity and pure justice – Colvin stated “I don’t perceive the logic of this submission”.
Lehrmann’s case is that he was denied procedural equity as a result of Lee’s findings concerning the alleged rape differed from the one alleged by Ten and Wilkinson. Burrows stated Lehrmann was not given an opportunity to answer that model of the rape.
Collins, for Ten, informed the courtroom Lehrmann’s grounds of attraction are “misconceived” and “a distraction, in our respectful submission”.
“As a result of, on the finish of the day, this was a defamation case, not a rape case,” Collins stated.
“Sexual activity with somebody with out consent, in circumstances the place you realize they’re drunk, in our submission was glad because the odd definition of the way in which we are saying the odd particular person would interpret the phrase rape.”
“Is it actually believable in 2021 that an individual in Mr Lehrmann’s place didn’t at any time flip his thoughts to the query of consent, having regard to the way in which wherein social mores in direction of sexual relations between the genders have developed?”
Burrows declined to element all her grounds of attraction, saying she would favor to deal with them in reply. Wigney warned her that this was unconventional and she or he couldn’t introduce something new in reply.
Collins stated it was an “astonishing submission” that Lehrmann’s proof may need been totally different if he had been given the possibility to answer questions on a “non-violent rape”.
“Properly that’s, with respect, an astonishing submission, and it might solely imply that had the pleading alleged a sexual assault wherein consent was in query, he would have conceded to having had sexual activity together with her, however argued that he thought he had her consent, or he did have her consent. That was by no means the way in which he ran his case,” he stated.
The listening to continues.
Lehrmann was charged with sexual activity with out consent in 2021, and at his legal trial in 2022 pleaded not responsible, denying that any sexual exercise had occurred.
After his legal trial was aborted in December 2022, prosecutors dropped costs in opposition to Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable danger” to her well being. Lehrmann has maintained his innocence.
