Lehrmann book ‘not authorised’ by Justice Lee, says court
The Federal Court says judge Michael Lee did not approve his Lehrmann defamation judgment becoming a $36.99 book and warns publisher bears responsibility for any impact on appeals.
Judge Michael Lee did not authorise or approve publication of his judgment in the Lehrmann defamation case as a $36.99 book by Melbourne University Press, with the Federal Court warning that responsibility for any impact on future appeals rests with the publisher.
MUP is publishing the judgment as a book, titled ‘He Went Back For His Hat’, on 5 November, with a foreword by sexual consent activist Chanel Contos - and also available for $23.99 as an e-reader - despite the judgment being available free online on the court’s website.
The title - and the book cover image of a lion - is a nod to Justice Lee’s memorable reference to Bruce Lehrmann seeking vindication, after his earlier criminal trial for the rape of Brittany Higgins was abandoned.
“Having escaped the lions’ den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” Justice Lee observed.
Publication of the book has raised eyebrows in legal circles, with Mr Lehrmann still before the court seeking leave to appeal Justice Lee’s damning judgment, which found, on the balance of probabilities, that he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.
MUP, the publishing arm of Melbourne University, is promoting the book as “Justice Michael Lee on Bruce Lehrmann” and some mainstream publications have reported that “Justice Michael Lee will publish his judgment in the defamation case”.
But the Federal Court told The Australian that Justice Lee “did not authorise or approve the publication of the judgment in this format, nor was Justice Lee directly engaged in the content of the introduction.
“No licensing or other arrangements with Justice Lee or the Court are in place with this publisher,” a Federal Court spokesperson said.
“Justice Lee’s full judgment is publicly available on the Federal Court’s website, in line with the Court’s commitment to open and accessible justice.
“With regard to the impact of this publication on any future appeal process, responsibility rests with Melbourne University Press.”
In the blurb for the book, MUP says Justice Lee “laid out his reasoning in painstaking detail, and presented his close-grained reading of the evidence based on its subtleties”.
“Critically for future sexual assault matters, his was a trauma-informed judgment that understood that the recollections of an assault victim can be inconsistent, affected by the attempted memory corrections of a traumatised person.
“The findings are notable for their valuable insights into future defamation and sexual assault prosecutions and for judicial education and the media.
“A masterclass of legal dissection, the narrative shows what civil courts can sometimes achieve in a way that criminal courts cannot.”
Mr Lehrmann’s bid to overturn Justice Lee’s ruling relied on “hopeless” and “exceptionally weak” grounds, Network 10’s lawyers said on Monday in the Federal Court, arguing the former Liberal staffer “had his day in court” and was not entitled to appeal the “devastating” findings.Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer said the judgment left him as “Australia’s most hated man” and was so devastating he is unable to secure regular income, and may have no choice but to turn to “Only Fans or something silly like that” to get a pay cheque.
In a statement the chair of the MUP board, Warren Bebbington, said Justice Lee was approached about the book “and he did not see any issue with the publication of a judgment that is in the public domain”. Justice Lee had read the foreword by Ms Contos but the publisher “did not ask for or require” his approval.
“Court judgments are not copyright and the Court does not licence or control their publication. We do understand that responsibility for our publications rest with MUP,” Professor Bebbington said.
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