Jury in Bruce Lehrmann trial to resume deliberations over Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations on Friday

The jury deciding the guilt of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins adjourned without delivering a verdict on Thursday.

Bruce Lehrmann outside the ACT Magistrates Court in Canberra on Thursday. Picture: Martin Ollman

The jury deciding the guilt of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins will deliberate for a third day.

The eight women and four men did not deliver a verdict on Thursday and will continue their deliberations from 10am on Friday at the ACT Supreme Court.

Reporters waited outside courtroom three on Thursday before the court briefly reconvened at 4pm, when ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum adjourned jurors for the day.

“Have a restful evening and please go straight to the jury’s room in the morning,” she said.

Mr Lehrmann and his defence counsel attended the hearing, along with the prosecution, while Ms Higgins was absent.

Brittany Higgins. Picture: Gary Ramage

The court has warned that the jury will reconvene at short notice when either a verdict is reached or the jurors have a question.

There is no way of predicting how long the jury will take in reaching a verdict or deciding they are unable to reach a unanimous decision, which would result in a mistrial.

Ms Higgins has alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her on the couch in the office of their then boss, the then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds, in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after a night out drinking with colleagues.

Mr Lehrmann has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual intercourse without consent and recklessness towards whether Ms Higgins was consenting.

His counsel Steven Whybrow told the court during the trial that Mr Lehrmann denies sex, consensual or otherwise, took place at all.

Ms Higgins has given evidence she was the drunkest she had ever been after consuming 11 drinks at The Dock in Kingston before having shots at the 88mph club in Civic.

The pair then shared an Uber to Parliament House and arrived at about 1.40am.

Neither Ms Higgins nor Mr Lehrmann had with them parliamentary passes and they were signed in by security, who walked them to Ms Reynold’s ministerial suite.

Mr Lehrmann said in an interview with the Australian Federal Police that he turned left towards his desk while Ms Higgins turned right towards Senator Reynolds office.

He said he worked on question time briefs before leaving without saying goodbye to Ms Higgins.

She alleges she was woken “mid rape” by a sharp pain in her thigh caused by Mr Lehrmann’s knee pinning her leg open as he jammed her into the corner of the couch inside Senator Reynolds’ office.

Security guards have told the court they found Ms Higgins naked and asleep on the couch.