Judge’s secrecy call on Bruce Lehrmann legal application

The judge who presided over Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial published her reasons on Monday for continuing to suppress material about the case even after the trial had been abandoned.

ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum. Picture: Albert McKnight

In an unusual move, the judge who presided over Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial published her reasons on Monday for continuing to suppress material about the case even after the trial had been abandoned.

On December 2, on the day chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold said the trial would not continue out of concerns for Ms Higgins’ mental health, ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum suppressed the nature of an application made by Mr Lehrmann’s then counsel, Arthur Moses.

The application was made by Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers on November 22, supported by an affidavit, after the trial was abandoned due to juror misconduct but before the DPP announced on December 2 he would not retry Mr Lehrmann.

Justice McCallum made orders prohibiting publication of the content of the application and the affidavit. She said there was “a cogent reason” for continuing the suppression order – namely, Ms Higgins’ medical condition.

“I have no doubt that any further exacerbation of the level of media attention directed to her carries a risk to her life,” Justice McCallum said.

“Based on my assessment of the application and the affidavit, it is my firm view publication of that material would give the media a new story or a new slant that would inevitably result in further harm to the complainant (Ms Higgins).”

It is unclear why Justice McCallum chose to publish her reasons on Monday, more than four months after making the order. It is also unclear why Justice McCallum has continued a non-publication order about the nature of the November application some five months later.

Several senior criminal lawyers told The Australian they were surprised the suppression orders over the nature of the application, and the material to support it, remained in place.