A Sydney lawyer acting for Bruce Lehrmann in his defamation appeal has taken the unusual step of writing the name of his proposed barrister on a piece of paper handed to the judge to avoid revealing his identity in open court.
Solicitor Zali Burrows, representing Lehrmann, told the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday that the senior barrister wished to remain unnamed at this stage to avoid being “trolled or harassed, for example, as I’ve experienced”.
Bruce Lehrmann in Queensland in June this year.Credit: Dan Peled
“Why can’t you tell me? Can you write it on a piece of paper?” Justice Wendy Abraham asked.
“Yes, I can,” Burrows said.
She said she had not “formally briefed” the silk and a junior counsel who may act for Lehrmann, but would do so after a hearing date for the appeal was set.
Burrows told the court that counsel would not be available for a hearing in March, but would be available in August.
Lehrmann is appealing against a decision by Federal Court Justice Michael Lee in April this year, dismissing his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson over an interview with his former colleague Brittany Higgins broadcast on The Project in 2021.
Lehrmann alleged the broadcast wrongly suggested he was guilty of raping Higgins in Parliament House in 2019. Lee found Ten and Wilkinson had proven this was true on the balance of probabilities and dismissed Lehrmann’s case.
This is a finding made to the civil standard, rather than the higher criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt. A criminal trial against Lehrmann was aborted in 2022 due to juror misconduct and he did not face a second trial owing to concerns over Higgins’ mental health. He has always maintained his innocence.
Abraham asked the parties to hold the dates of August 19-22 next year for an appeal hearing.
The judge had previously suggested the appeal might be heard in March.
Wilkinson’s barrister, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, said a hearing in August represented a “significant delay, in circumstances where the appeal was filed over five months ago … just to accommodate some unnamed counsel”.
“There’s many fish in the sea, as your honour is aware, when it comes to counsel,” Chrysanthou said.
“In circumstances where there’s no investment in that person, or no suggestion that there’s been an investment in that person, accommodating a delay of so many months seems to us to be excessive.”
But Abraham pointed out that an unsuccessful application by Ten, supported by Wilkinson, for Lehrmann to pay $200,000 in security to proceed with his appeal had taken “some time”.
“Surely you’re not suggesting it be listed [for a hearing] … with no representation [for Lehrmann]?” Abraham asked.
“Of course not, your honour, but we’ve been given very little information,” Chrysanthou said.
Abraham set out a timetable for written submissions to be filed ahead of the likely appeal hearing in late August.
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