THE SQUIZ
The high-profile sexual assault trial of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann was thrown out yesterday due to misconduct by a juror. The trial was focused on former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins’ claims that she was raped by Lehrmann at Parliament House after a night out drinking in March 2019 – something Lehrmann denies happening. The trial ran for 12 days and called 29 witnesses, including former Liberal ministers Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash, to give evidence. The 12-person jury was due to start its 6th day of deliberations yesterday, but ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum instead called the jurors into court after learning one of them had obtained material not presented in the trial. She then discharged all of them, instructing them not to make comments that could prejudice a future trial.

BACK IT UP A BIT – WHAT MATERIAL?
A juror had been conducting their own research about the case outside of court… That’s a big no-no, and McCallum told the jury “at least 17 times” to avoid sourcing materials outside of what was given to them as evidence in the courtroom. She said she had told them “if you are learning something about this trial, and I’m not there, then you should not be doing it”. It all began to unravel on Wednesday evening when a security officer who was tidying the jury room found what they thought was a suspicious document brought in by a juror and reported it. The court yesterday heard it was an academic research paper about sexual assaults. McCallum said the document might not have caused harm in the jury’s deliberations, “but it’s not a risk I can take”. There are no repercussions for the juror – what they did doesn’t constitute an offence in the ACT.

HOW DID THAT GO DOWN?
Somewhat unsurprisingly, both sides of the case were shocked. Higgins cried as she spoke to reporters outside court, saying she felt like she was on trial and that system is “stacked against” sexual assault complainants. Lehrmann’s lawyers were not happy about that… His barrister Steven Whybrow said her words might be in contempt of court and that she disrespected the court’s authority after McCallum told everyone not to make comments. He has reported it to the police and the court for legal advice. A tentative retrial date has been set for 20 February next year, but a decision on doing it all again is yet to be confirmed. Lehrmann has been granted bail until that date.