Key Points
- Justice Michael Lee is working on a decision in Bruce Lehrmann's defamation lawsuit.
- Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over a February 2021 report.
- Brittany Higgins was interviewed about her alleged rape in 2019 in the report, but Lehrmann was not named.
With three legal teams and a slew of witnesses heading home for the holidays, a judge will begin work on his decision in Bruce Lehrmann's defamation lawsuit.
Justice Michael Lee will have the mammoth task of poring over around 15,000 pages of transcript and 1000 separate exhibits, including hours of CCTV footage as well as audio and video recordings.
He told the court he may begin writing the judgment on Saturday.
Lehrmann is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over a February 2021 report on The Project where Brittany Higgins was interviewed about her alleged rape in a Parliament House office in March 2019.
Lehrmann was not named in The Project interview, and he has always denied any sexual contact occurred.
The Federal Court trial has taken 22 days with Lehrmann and Wilkinson appearing in court each day.
The trial's YouTube livestream has at times been watched by almost 14,000 viewers.
Lehrmann and Higgins each gave testimony over several days.
In cross-examination, they both endured significant attacks on their credibility with lies and inconsistencies revealed in their differing versions of what occurred.
This was the first time Lehrmann has given evidence under oath about what he claims happened or did not happen as he had the right to remain silent during a prior criminal trial.
Ten and Wilkinson's lawyers claim Lehrmann is a liar who would say and do anything that suited his interests, urging the court to reject his account that no sexual activity occurred.
Lehrmann's legal team argues Higgins made up the rape allegation to save her job after she was found naked, alone and passed out in the office of her then boss Senator Linda Reynolds.
Ten and Wilkinson have run three defences, saying the ex-Liberal staffer was not identifiable in the report, that it was true the alleged rape occurred, and that they acted reasonably in publishing a news report of public interest.
Witnesses who gave evidence include Higgins' family, staff members from Parliament House, police officers who investigated the allegations, a forensic toxicologist and a British lip reader.
Lehrmann previously sued both News.com.au and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for defamation over their related reporting on Higgins' allegations.
In out-of-court settlements with both publishers, Lehrmann received no damages but was paid a total of $445,000 to cover his legal costs of pursuing the cases.
Separately, it was also revealed in cross-examination that Seven Network paid Lehrmann’s fortnightly rent of $4,000 for a period of 12 months, in exchange for giving exclusive interviews to Seven Network over the allegations and aftermath.
Higgins sued the federal government over alleged workplace breaches and received over $2.4 million in compensation through a settlement.
Media reports on Higgins' allegations triggered the March 4 Justice which spread across the nation in March 2021.
Lehrmann's trial in the ACT Supreme Court on a charge of raping Higgins was vacated in June 2022 after Wilkinson gave a speech accepting a Logies award for The Project report.
The postponed trial was derailed by juror misconduct in October that year.
Prosecutors did not seek a second trial, citing concerns for Higgins' mental health.
