The trial, which accuses a former Liberal staffer of raping Brittany Higgins, has been postponed due to Lisa Wilkinson‘s Logies speech on Sunday night, an interview with Jonsey & Amanda on Monday and surrounding publicity.
On Tuesday ACT Supreme Court Justice, Lucy McCallum, held an urgent court hearing — observing that Lisa Wilkinson’s comments at the Logies may have jeopardised the defendant’s right to a fair trial. On Sunday, Wilkinson won the Logie for most outstanding news coverage or public affairs report for her interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project.
According to Justice McCallum, Wilkinson’s speech implied that Higgins’ claims about the alleged rape are true. But as the case isn’t finalised, Lehmann still has the right to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence.
“What concerns me most about this recent round is that the distinction between an allegation and a finding of guilt has been completely obliterated in the discussion on Sunday and Monday,” McCallum said. “The implicit premise of (Lisa Wilkinson’s speech) is to celebrate the truthfulness of the story she exposed.”
The accused, Bruce Lehmann, was due to stand trial in the Supreme Court on June 27. However, his lawyers have been successful in their application to delay the trial due to the publicity surrounding Wilkinson’s speech.
“Somewhere in this debate the distinction between an untested allegation and the fact of guilt has been lost,” said McCallum during the hearing.
“The law of contempt … has proved ineffective in this case.
“The public at large is given to believe guilt is established. The importance of the rule of law has been set at nil.”
McCallum also addressed how the situation was being likened to that of Grace Tame.
“Grace Tame was talking about her experience after the man had been convicted and served a sentence of imprisonment,” she said.
“(Tame’s) important contribution to the legal landscape was to say ‘the jury knows what he did, the public knows what he did, but I can’t talk about it because of the law that prohibits me outing myself.
“Miss Higgins is treated as being in the same category. And she’s not,’’ Justice McCallum said.
Bruce Lehmann pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019. It is not yet clear when the trial will go ahead.
