Summary
Thanks for joining us for the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial verdict. This blog has now closed – you can read all about today’s decision here:
We have video of Lisa Wilkinson speaking outside the federal court in Sydney after Justice Lee handed down his judgment.
Full judgment released
The full judgment has been uploaded to the federal court website. You can read it here.
Updated
Outcome shows truth defence works ‘so long as media is painstaking in their research’, media expert says
Today’s outcome was a good day for freedom of press in Australia and shows the truth defence does work, says media expert Denis Muller.
Muller said the case, like Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation loss last year, showed the truth defence works, so “long as the media is painstaking in their research and careful in the way they go about representing the material”.
He said:
My main takeaway is that the truth defence does tend to work when matters are being decided on the balance of probabilities rather than the strict criterion of beyond reasonable doubt.
We saw this perhaps more vividly in BRS case, but the BRS case turned on a lot of eternal witnesses and documents, whereas this one turned on the judge’s assessment of the credibility of the two primary figures in the case, Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins.
Muller said a jury might have decided the case differently from the judge due to popular rape myths that might have been put forward in a criminal trial.
We know a lot about the popular myths about how a rape victim ought to respond, and [Justice Lee] set them aside, would a jury have set them aside? I think that’s an open question.
I would not be regarding this as a blank cheque for the media to go after stories like this, they are fraught with danger legally and ethically.
Updated
Greens spokesperson ‘horrified’ at defamation case damage on victim-survivors
The Greens spokesperson on women, Larissa Waters, says “we must believe women” after the judge’s findings today.
She said:
To change the unacceptable rates of sexual violence and end Australia’s culture of sexual violence, harassment and abuse, we need to support victims to come forward, and dismantle the power imbalances and gender stereotypes that deter them from doing so.
We must continue to work for gender equality so that all women can be safe. And we must believe women.
Waters said her heart goes out to victim-survivors who’ve had to relive their trauma:
I am horrified at the damage this defamation case, initiated by a man called a rapist by the judge, has had for victim-survivors everywhere.
I believe women.
• Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732) and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732.
Updated
Decision an 'unmitigated disaster for Bruce Lehrmann', Channel Ten lawyer says
One of Channel Ten’s lawyers, Justin Quill, has fronted the media, saying the decision is an “unmitigated disaster for Bruce Lehrmann”.
“Bruce Lehrmann is a rapist.”
Quill said he accepts the judgment, but that doesn’t mean he agrees “with everything”.
He said the implication that Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech could have impacted the perspective of jurors, in his opinion, did not “pass the muster”.
“In the end Channel Ten turned up here and defended at great cost this case and Lisa’s journalism, and defended The Project’s journalism.
“His honour found that Channel Ten deserved to be vindicated.”
Updated
Network Ten: 'This judgment is a triumph for truth'
Network Ten has issued a statement in response to the ruling hailing it as vindication for Brittany Higgins.
At its core this case was first and foremost about truth and Justice Lee has found that Network 10 prevailed in proving that Brittany Higgins’ allegations of rape were true.
This judgment is a triumph for truth.
Justice Lee’s judgment is vindication for the courageous Brittany Higgins who gave a voice to women across the nation.
Network 10 is considering Justice Lee’s 324-page judgment. It is clear however that Australia’s defamation laws remain highly restrictive.
When put to the test, it was always our obligation to inform the public of these important social and political matters notwithstanding the challenges presented by these laws and today’s judgment vindicates the telling of Brittany’s story.
Network 10 remains firmly committed to honest, fair and independent journalism; to holding those in power to account; to giving people a voice who wouldn’t otherwise have one; and to always pursuing without fear or favour, journalism that is firmly in the public interest.
Updated
Lisa Wilkinson: 'I sincerely hope this judgment gives strength to women around the country'
Lisa Wilkinson has addressed the media outside the court.
Today the federal court has found that I published a true story about a rape in a federal minister’s office at Parliament House in March of 2019.
I sincerely hope this judgment gives strength to women around the country.
Wilkinson also thanked her legal team led by Sue Chrysanthou. She said her legal team’s “expertise and wise counsel has been a source of ongoing strength” over the duration of the defamation case.
Wilkinson also thanked her family, and “generous members of the public” for their support.
Throughout every step of this process I have been surrounded by the love of my wonderful family as well as incredibly supportive friends and colleagues. I can never thank them enough.
Updated
Lisa Wilkinson is addressing the press pack outside the federal court.
Lisa Wilkinson addresses huge press pack outside the Federal Court following the finding in the Lehrmann defamation case today. pic.twitter.com/jCeQVn7CxQ
— Kate Lyons (@MsKateLyons) April 15, 2024
Updated
Bruce Lehrmann leaves the court
Our reporter Jordyn Beazley is at the court, where she’s just seen Bruce Lehrmann exit the building.
Bruce Lehrmann leaving court after losing the defamation case he brought against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson, and being found to have raped Brittany Higgins on the balance of probabilities. @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/6fatnf1sF9
— Jordyn Beazley (@jordynbeazley) April 15, 2024
Updated
After two-and-a-half hours, Justice Lee has finished reading extracts of his decision.
Updated
Justice Lee: 'Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat'
Justice Lee has found that Ten’s defence of truth has been successful.
He has ordered that the parties file submissions on costs by 22 April.
He found that on the balance of probabilities Lehrmann raped Higgins on the minister’s couch in Parliament House in 2019.
Lee: “In summary, I consider it more likely than not in those early hours, after a long night of conviviality and drinking and having successfully brought Ms Higgins back to a secluded place, Mr Lehrmann was hellbent on having sex with a woman he found attractive” and knew was inebriated.
“Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” Lee said.
Justice Lee: 'Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins' on balance of probabilities
Lee has found Higgins did not consent. He is now turning to Lehrmann’s state of mind.
Lehrmann was so indifferent to the rights of Higgins that he ignored the matter of consent.
Lehrmann was “hellbent” in pursuit of gratification of having sex with a woman he found sexually attractive.
“He did not care one way or the other whether Ms Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on.”
Lee has found that on the balance of probabilities Higgins was raped.
“Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins.”
Updated
Lee satisfied Higgins did not consent to sex with Lehrmann
Lee has rejected the notion that if the intercourse had been consensual they would have left together. He said it was explicable Lehrmann ran out alone because he was cheating on his girlfriend.
On the matter of consent Lee said Lehrmann knew Higgins was drunk, saw her falling over and saw her drinking.
He is not satisfied Higgins said no repeatedly, but he is considering if she consented at all.
In the end it comes down to whether Higgins was telling the truth in the witness box. Her evidence that she was not fully aware of her surroundings until she realised Lehrmann was on top of her performing a sexual act.
Lee said he is satisfied Higgins did not consent.
Updated
Intercourse took place between Higgins and Lehrmann but Lee is not reasonably satisfied that Higgins repeatedly said “stop” while he was on top of her.
Lee is detailing the historical and legal definitions of rape.
Lee said his focus is on the ordinary meaning of rape in this case, which is a civil and not a criminal trial.
Updated
Sexual intercourse took place between Higgins and Lehrmann, Lee says
Lee is now saying what he has found happened inside the suite. He believes sexual intercourse did take place and that Lehrmann was on top of Higgins.
He is not satisfied that Higgins said “no” repeatedly but he believes she was passive “like a log”, and that afterwards she passed into a deep sleep.
He is not satisfied that the bruise photograph was genuine.
Updated
Lee said it was significant that she told her “loving father” that she was raped.
“One wonders why a daughter would say such a thing to a clearly loving father absent a genuine belief that should have taken place,” Lee said.
“For completeness it’s worth stressing these apparently candid communications with her father might be thought to have cogency because they occurred before” the interview with The Project.
Updated
Higgins was ‘seriously inebriated’ on night of alleged rape, judge finds
Lee is satisfied Higgins was drunk and, although we don’t have a blood alcohol reading, she was “seriously inebriated”.
Additional drinking of whisky in the office was not put to Lehrmann in the witness box, but he strongly suspects it did take place.
CCTV footage showed Higgins walking through security, trying to put her shoes on and later skipping to catch up.
It does show she was not “paralytically drunk” but she was heavily affected, and Lehrmann was aware of her condition, Lee says.
Updated
Judge outlines incontrovertible facts
Lee says Higgins was happy when she heard that Lehrmann denied that any sex took place at all. Higgins had told Samantha Maiden she thought there was going to be a debate about consent.
Lee said the incontrovertible facts are: Higgins and Lehrmann were alone at Parliament House; Lehrmann did not answer calls from his girlfriend, Lehrmann left the office alone, Higgins fell into a deep sleep; Higgins was checked on by a security guard and there was no answer.
Updated
The judge has been quite scathing of Bruce Lehrmann throughout the reading of the judgment extracts.
Lehrmann, who is in court, has barely looked up toward the judge throughout the course of the judgment, instead looking down at his bench table and very occasionally talking to the legal representative sitting next to him.
‘Subtle tension’ between Higgins’ varying account of alleged rape, judge says
Lee is now going over Higgins’ evidence about the alleged rape.
“The first thing to be said about Ms Higgins’ account is it involves a grave allegation,” he says.
Lee finds Higgins’ account more believable than Lehrmann’s.
There is a “subtle tension” between Higgins’ varying accounts of the alleged rape.
Three days after the incident she said “I could not have consented. It would have been like fucking a log.”
At another time she said: “From what I recall, I was barely lucid. I don’t feel it was consensual at all.”
Lehrmann's account an 'elaborate fancy', Lee says
Lee says he considers Lehrmann’s account to be “an elaborate fancy”.
He rejects Lehrmann’s account that while inside the office he made notes on a question time brief.
Lehrmann came back to the office with “a woman he found attractive who had just been pashing in a nightclub”, Lee says.
Lee says he would expect any man to check on a young woman before leaving the office so late at night.
Updated
Lee rejects submissions critical of Parliament House security guards who let Higgins and Lehrmann in
Lehrmann told security that “we” rather than “I” have to collect documents so the guards didn’t refuse them entry. Lehrmann thought collecting his keys was not a good enough excuse to get into the office and thought he might be turned away, Lee says.
Lee is assessing the evidence given by the security guards about the level of intoxication of Lehrmann and Higgins. One security guard said Higgins was drunk because she struggled to get her shoes on.
Lee rejects Ten’s assertion that the two of them should have been denied access to Parliament House, noting that drunk people can compose themselves and convince the guards they are OK.
He rejects the submissions critical of the security guards.
Updated
Lee says to find the truth about why Lehrmann went back to the office he has gone back to the first statements the two of them made to third-party witnesses who gave evidence.
Higgins told Major Irvine she went back to Parliament House because Lehrmann “had whisky to show her” and Lehrmann told his boss Fiona Brown that “he didn’t want to get into” why he had gone back to the office.
Updated
Lehrmann had already been unfaithful to girlfriend and wanted to continue intimacy with Higgins, judge says
Lee says Higgins was inebriated and Lehrmann must have known that her judgment was impaired. Lehrmann had already been unfaithful to his girlfriend and was using the office as a place to go to continue the intimacy with Higgins.
Higgins would have been aware Lehrmann had more power at work than she did and she wanted to get on with him.
How keen Higgins was to go back to Parliament House is not known but if she went “somewhat reluctantly” it is possible she did not want to offend Lehrmann, who was her superior.
Updated
‘Brittany hooked up with Bruce’ at nightclub 88mph, judge finds
Lee says he was certain despite the evidence given by Lehrmann that “Brittany hooked up with Bruce” at the nightclub 88mph.
Lee is now turning to the journey in an Uber to Parliament House. He rejects Lehrmann’s account about why he went back to the office.
There was no reason for a junior staffer like Higgins to go back and he could have texted his girlfriend to get back in his house without keys, Lee says.
Updated
Lehrmann’s claim he had little to do with Higgins at the Dock a ‘very serious distortion’, judge says
Lehrmann’s contention that he had little to do with Higgins that night at the Dock was a “very serious distortion”, the judge says.
Lehrmann was aware of her drinking and he did encourage her to drink, Lee says. Lehrmann was also keen to continue the evening.
Updated
Higgins consumed 11 drinks at the Dock on night of alleged rape, judge says
Lee says the CCTV established what happened at the Dock. Lehrmann made false statements to the AFP and the federal court about how he paid for the drinks, Lee says.
How he paid for the drinks “is not a minute detail” and was important to what happened late that night, Lee said.
Lee finds that by the time they left the Dock, Higgins had consumed 11 drinks, including six drinks Lehrmann observed her drinking.
“I do not accept Mr Lehrmann’s submission [about her drinking],” he says.
Updated
Lehrmann told ‘tall tale’ about going to work for Asis
Lee has now turned to Ten’s truth defence. He is talking about the night of the alleged rape and the timeline of events, according to the CCTV footage retrieved from the Dock bar in Canberra.
He is describing what he knows happened on the night between the people drinking that night alongside Higgins and Lehrmann.
Lehrmann told Lauren Gain, a witness Lee described as credible, a “tall tale” about going to work for Asis.
Updated
Ten's attempts to contact Lehrmann were inadequate, judge says
Lee is now assessing Ten’s journalism in relation to its qualified privilege defence.
Lee said Wilkinson and producer Angus Llewellyn did not properly investigate the timeline presented to the team by Higgins and her partner, David Sharaz.
Ten’s attempts to contact Lehrmann were not adequate, he said.
Updated
Wilkinson ready to ‘double down’ on conspiracy that there was political cover-up
Lee said Wilkinson had a tendency to dismiss information which did not fit the narrative Higgins was presenting to her. She was willing to “double down” on the conspiracy that there was a political cover-up.
Wilkinson contradicted herself when she claimed the story as her own when she won a Logie with her claim she was not responsible for all the research and the fact-checking done by the program.
“She fully believed what Ms Higgins told her,” Lee said.
Updated
Wilkinson had ‘lack of candour’ in witness box
Lee said Lisa Wilkinson was polished but not self-assured. He said she has spent decades in the media but did not adapt easily to what was expected of her in the witness box.
“Regrettably, however, these not inconsiderable skills were often deployed by her in the witness box to advocate for her views,” Lee said.
“Ms Wilkinson took comfort in the fact she did not say in express terms that Mr Lehrmann was a rapist.”
Lee said she should have known better than to give a speech before a criminal trial but he accepted that she had legal advice that it was OK.
Wilkinson had a “lack of candour in the witness box” about doing the wrong thing.
Lee said she often refused to concede she was wrong, for example in her description of how the program portrayed Fiona Brown.
Updated
Lee believes chief of staff Fiona Brown over Higgins
Lee has accepted the evidence of public servant Fiona Brown, who was Linda Reynolds’ former chief of staff. Brown interviewed both Higgins and Lehrmann shortly after the alleged rape. Lee said he believes Brown and not Higgins over what happened in the office of Senator Linda Reynolds.
Lee said Higgins was complimentary of Brown in 2019 and then critical of her in 2021.
Updated
Higgins a ‘complex and in some respects an unsatisfactory witness’
Lee is not satisfied with the evidence Higgins gave about her Bumble date on the night of the alleged rape.
He said she claimed the date was bullied but the CCTV footage shows nothing of the sort. Lee said she “made false representations”. Higgins is a “complex and in some respects an unsatisfactory witness”.
He has found that she “selectively curated” the material on her phone and “sometimes told untruths when it suited her”.
While in 2019 her behaviour was “not inconsistent with the conduct of a genuine victim of sexual assault”, he is not satisfied this is true of the accounts she gave in 2021.
Higgins’ evidence over photograph of bruise on leg was ‘vexing’ and ‘odd’
Lee has now turned to the photograph of the bruise on Higgins’ leg on the “fateful night”.
She claims she sustained the bruise on the night of the rape when her leg was pressed against the couch by Lehrmann.
Her evidence was “vexing” and “odd” in relation to the bruise on her leg, he said.
It was odd that she did not show the photo to the AFP at the first meeting.
There is no metadata to show when the photo was taken, and the photo showed something different to her evidence.
Lee is also concerned about the deletion of photos and data on Higgins’ phone.
Lee not putting ‘significant weight’ on Lehrmann’s submission Higgins lied in commonwealth deed
Lee does not accept or “put significant weight on” Lehrmann’s submission that Higgins lied in the assertions she made in the commonwealth deed for which she got compensation.
“To repeat, I do not consider it necessary or appropriate that I attempt to characterise or reach any legal conclusion as to Miss Higgins’ conduct” in relation to the commonwealth deed. “I’m only dealing with issues as to credit.”
Updated
Higgins’ account in later years was ‘troubling’
Lee says there are inconsistencies in Higgins’ accounts but the 2019 accounts have to be put in the context at the time. It was normal for her to be unsure at the time, Lee says.
Lee says it was her account in later years – that is, in 2021 when she and her partner David Sharaz spoke to Lisa Wilkinson – that was “troubling”.
She relied on her feelings rather than facts, and used the word “weird” in relation to how people at work were behaving. She used the word “weird” with journalist Samantha Maiden and with The Project, Lee says.
Updated
Lehrmann’s untruths ‘all over the shop’
Lee is now looking at the credibility of Brittany Higgins and whether trauma explainer her different accounts. However, not all of her memory can be explained in that way.
“There is a significant difference between the distortions of Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins. In the case of Mr Lehrmann the untruths were all over the shop.”
Higgins’ untruths were “quite organised” and differed between 2019 and 2021, Lee says.
Updated
Lee is showing his flair for language and propensity for a wry joke that we’ve come to expect.
Lee got a snigger from the public for his comment that he needed to deal with the allegations from former Channel Seven producer Taylor Auerbach, in what he had labelled in his judgment as the “Spotlight detour”.
Lee is now explaining what he made of former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach’s evidence. He has rejected Auerbach’s claim that a lawyer working for Seven told him to delete documents.
Auerbach performed his role as a babysitter for Lehrmann and at time was an “ardent” babysitter, Lee says.
Lee says Lehrmann was less than “candid” about what benefits he received from Seven.
Updated
Lee is now going through the credibility of some of the witnesses, but not all.
“Before coming to the facts it’s necessary to make some observations given the centrality of credit to the proceedings as to the central witnesses,” he says.
Lehrmann’s reasons for going to Parliament House are being examined.
“I am satisfied that in important respects, he told deliberate lies.
“I would not accept anything he said except where it amounted to an admission accorded with the inherent probabilities or was corroborated by contemporaneous document or a witness, whose evidence I accept.”
Updated
Lee says the CCTV footage showed Lehrmann was not telling the truth about some of the things that happened at the Dock Bar.
Lehrmann gave false evidence about being intimate with Higgins at the 8mph nightclub. The evidence from a witness that he was intimate with her was “compelling”, Lee says.
Lehrmann was identified by The Project, judge finds
Lee said Lehrmann was identified by The Project, which is the first finding he had to make.
He is now considering Ten’s defence of truth.
Lee says the alleged rape will not be proven unless he feel “an actual persuasion of its occurrence”.
“And having said this, the difference between the criminal and civil standard of proof is substantive and can be decisive in dealing with the same underlying allegation.
“The facts established must be such as to exclude all reasonable hypotheses, consistent with innocence.”
Both Lehrmann and Higgins ‘unreliable historians’, Lee says
Lee said only two people know what happened behind doors and both Lehrmann and Higgins are “unreliable historians”.
“People give unreliable evidence for various reasons and distinguishing between the false memory and the lie can often be difficult,” he said.
Updated
Lee is explaining why this case has been so controversial.
“Some jumped to predetermined conclusions because they are disposed to be sceptical about complaints of sexual assault, and hold stereotype beliefs about the expected behaviour of rape victims, described by social scientists as rape myths,” he said.
“Others say they believe all women, surrendering their critical faculties by embracing and acting upon a slogan arising out of the #MeToo movement. Some have a predetermined view.”
The technical issues have been fixed and we are up and running. There were tens of thousands of people watching the decision on YouTube when it fell silent.
Justice Lee was just a few minutes into his decision, and will now resume.
“It is a singular case,” he said earlier. “The underlying controversy has become a cause celebre.
More from our reporter Kate Lyons in court:
Right before he rose and adjourned, Justice Lee said he had “been alerted to the fact that the court is muted”. The screens in the courtroom still say “microphones muted”, though clearly it is not as simple an issue as hitting “unmute” or we’d be back on now.
The (presumed) IT guy, whose name I have gleaned is Michael, has been called out of the courtroom by the judge’s associate. Hopefully, they’re back there somewhere rebooting something, so that court can resume soon. One imagines this is a very stressful time for a long delay for Lehrmann, Wilkinson and the other parties to the judgment.
“It appears the technical issues have been fixed, so we will be recommencing shortly,” says one of the associates.
The court muted itself on the live stream of the Lehrmann judgment. You can see the mute in the bottom left hand corner
— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) April 15, 2024
Updated
Throughout the five-week trial and the additional hearings, we did not have a technical issue this serious. Given Justice Lee’s insistence on open justice, having the live feed go silent is not ideal.
Updated
Here’s what our reporter Kate Lyons is seeing in court:
A man who, were I a betting woman, I would wager is from the court’s IT team, has entered the courtroom and is now having a tinker with the one of the computers here. He’s on the phone, pressing some buttons on the offending computer as he presumably is trying to sort out the court’s technical issues. The judge’s associates have been in and out of the room. The lawyers all look very relaxed, and are chatting amongst themselves as we wait for the judge to come back in.
Updated
The court has adjourned while the sound on the live feed is fixed. There are still more 23,000 people watching the live stream.
Lee said the full judgment will be published on the federal court website immediately after the pronouncement of orders “but given the public interest in the case, I intend to attempt to provide an oral overview of my findings and the reasons for the making of the orders”.
Lee said the case is so complex that even his summary will be lengthy.
Lee acknowledged the “unexpected detours” and the collateral damage it has occasioned.
“It might be more fitting to describe it as an omnishambles,” he said.
Updated
Justice Lee: ‘Only one man and one woman know the truth, with certitude, of what happened’
Justice Lee says that the case is a “Rorschach test” for people, with people clinging to their sense of what the truth is of what happened.
This case is not as straightfoward as some observers might at first think, he says.
“Only one man and one woman know the truth, with certitude, of what happened.”
Lee said that while there are differing accounts of what happened, there can be different reasons for these differences and “distinguishing between false memory and deceit is difficult”.
Updated
Justice Lee says his judgment is 324 pages long. He says he will give a verbal summary because of the public interest.
The sound has dropped out on the live feed.
Updated
Lehrmann and Wilkinson enter the courtroom
Bruce Lehrmann and Lisa Wilkinson have both arrived into courtroom one on the 21st level of the federal court building in central Sydney.
Lehrmann is sitting at the bench, alongside his legal team, while Wilkinson is sitting on the other side of the courtroom in the front row of the gallery, in a row of red reserved seats.
In the last two days of the hearing – during which time former Channel Seven producer Taylor Auerbach gave sensational evidence – the courtroom was packed, with every seat filled and people forced to stand outside the door.
Today, the judgment is being heard in a much larger room, with about 150 seats for the gallery. It is currently about two-thirds full, with network executives, journalists and members of the public coming to watch the end of what has been a long and, at times, bombshell case.
Updated
As we wait for Justice Michael Lee to enter the court room and begin delivering his ruling at 10.15am, there are 9,000 people and climbing watching the live feed from the federal court in Sydney.
Bruce Lehrmann has arrived at court ahead of the decision.
Bruce Lehrmann is arriving at the federal court now @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/QyjjejKwVk
— Jordyn Beazley (@jordynbeazley) April 15, 2024
Lisa Wilkinson has arrived at the court ahead of today’s decision. Our reporter Jordyn Beazley is at the court in Sydney, and captured this shot.
Lisa Wilkinson and lawyer Sue Chrysanthou enter court for the long awaited judgement in the defamation trial brought by Bruce Lehrmann. @GuardianAus pic.twitter.com/JoYOoWd7Nd
— Jordyn Beazley (@jordynbeazley) April 15, 2024
Updated
Bruce Lehrmann alleges The Project broadcast carried four defamatory imputations. What are they?
In Lehrmann’s statement of claim, he alleges there were four defamatory imputations:
1. That he raped Higgins in Reynolds’ office;
2. That he “continued to rape Brittany Higgins after she woke up mid-rape and was crying and telling him to stop at least half a dozen times”;
3. Whilst raping Higgins, Lehrmann crushed his leg against her leg so forcefully as to cause a large bruise;
4. That, after he had finished raping Higgins, he left her on a couch in a state of undress with her dress up around her waist.
“Because of the seriousness of the allegation you have to be satisfied, positively satisfied, that that serious allegation is made out,” says David Rolph, a professor of law at the University of Sydney law school and the leading academic expert in Australia on defamation law. “So obviously the imputation here is a very serious allegation of criminality.
“So even though it’s not the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt, Justice Lee would have to be positively satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that that was substantially true.”
Lehrmann denies the allegations and pleaded not guilty at his trial in the Australian Capital Territory supreme court, which was aborted due to juror misconduct. Prosecutors did not seek a retrial due to concerns about Higgins’s mental health.
Updated
Key event
What Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson argued
Ten and Wilkinson relied on the defences of truth and qualified privilege. They argued the imputation that Lehrmann raped Higgins is substantially true and because defamation proceedings are civil matters, rather than criminal, the standard of proof is different.
Under the qualified privilege defence, Ten and Wilkinson had to prove a number of elements including that the program was in the public interest and that they acted reasonably.
In 2021, the Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins claimed on The Project she had been raped two years earlier on a minister’s couch in Parliament House.
She made the claim in an interview with news.com.au and a television interview which was aired by Network Ten’s The Project on 15 February.
The media outlets did not name the alleged rapist, but Higgins’ colleague Lehrmann later claimed he was identifiable and sued news.com.au, Network Ten and its presenter Wilkinson for defamation.
Lehrmann maintains his innocence, and at his criminal trial in 2022 pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, denying that any sexual activity had occurred.
After his criminal trial was aborted in December 2022, prosecutors dropped charges against Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to her health.
Federal court of Australia to livestream the case on YouTube
This blog will cover major developments during the day. In the interests of open justice and due to significant public interest, the federal court is livestreaming this case.
You can watch the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial live stream on YouTube here, starting from 10.15am.
Updated
What the judge will consider in his defamation trial judgment
When Justice Michael Lee hands down his decision today, it will say whether the respondent has established, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in then defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019.
Being a civil proceeding, a defamation trial works on the balance of probabilities, rather than the higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt used in criminal prosecutions.
Read the link below to see what Lee has had to consider before reaching that decision.
How the Bruce Lehrmann defamation case unfolded
In 2021, the Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins made an explosive allegation, claiming she had been raped two years earlier on a minister’s couch in Parliament House.
She made the claim in an interview with news.com.au and a television interview which was aired by Channel Ten’s The Project on 15 February.
The media outlets did not name the alleged rapist but Higgins’ colleague Bruce Lehrmann later claimed he was identifiable and sued news.com.au, Channel Ten and its presenter Lisa Wilkinson for defamation.
Lehrmann maintains his innocence and at his criminal trial in 2022 pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent, denying that any sexual activity had occurred.
After his criminal trial was aborted in December 2022, prosecutors dropped charges against Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to her health. Lehrmann settled with News.com then pursued Ten and Wilkinson in the courts, resulting in a five-week defamation trial which ran until just before Christmas.
Click below to read more about how the story has played out so far.
Updated
Good morning
We are expecting a judgment this morning at 10.15am from Justice Michael Lee in the Bruce Lehrmann v Ten & Ors defamation case.
Lehrmann sued Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson for the broadcast of an interview with Brittany Higgins on The Project in 2021 which he said defamed him by suggesting he raped Higgins in 2019.
Lehrmann has always denied the rape allegation and, in a previous criminal trial, pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent. He denied that any sexual activity had occurred.
The criminal trial was aborted after it was discovered a juror had conducted their own research in relation to the case.
In December 2022 prosecutors dropped charges against Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Higgins, saying a retrial would pose an “unacceptable risk” to her health.
The oral summary by the federal court judge will be live streamed on YouTube and a written judgment with the reasons for his decision will be published afterwards.
Justice Lee will rule whether the respondent has established, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped Higgins in then defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019.
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