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AAP
AAP
National
Maeve Bannister

Deliberations ongoing for Lehrmann verdict

A jury has not yet reached a verdict after a full day of deliberations in the trial for the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins.

Bruce Lehrmann is charged with sexual intercourse without consent.

He has pleaded not guilty and has faced an almost three-week long trial in the ACT Supreme Court.

Ms Higgins alleges Lehrmann raped her inside a ministerial office in Parliament House after the pair went out drinking with colleagues.

Lehrmann denies any sexual interaction took place.

Chief Justice Lucy McCallum provided detailed instructions to the jury before they began their deliberations on Wednesday afternoon.

She reminded jurors that Lehrmann was presumed innocent unless or until his guilt was proven by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt.

She told the jury it must act impartially, without emotion or prejudice and give a true verdict according to the evidence presented in the courtroom in the past three weeks.

"You are not answerable to popular opinion ... whichever way you may think it sways," she said.

"Your verdict, whether it be guilty or not guilty, must be unanimous."

The chief justice summed up the prosecution and defence cases and said it was up to the jury to decide which evidence they did and did not accept.

But she warned them not to invoke any stereotypes they may hold about an event or situation they have not experienced personally, saying there was "no template" for life.

"Be careful about speculation and pre-conception ... be careful not to make assumptions about how a person may behave in circumstances you have not experienced," she said.

Lehrmann exercised his right to silence and did not enter the witness box during the trial. The jury was instead played his police interview.

Chief Justice McCallum said his decision not to give evidence in court could not be used as an admission of guilt and did not strengthen the prosecution's case.

She also said Lehrmann's agreement to do a police interview did not shift the burden of proof to him.

The jurors will on Friday enter their second day of deliberations.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

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