Australia’s rape trial in parliament dropped

• The case against Bruce Lehrmann has been dismissed due to misconduct by the jury.
• He denies sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins after a night out in Canberra in 2019.
• She claims he assaulted her on a minister’s sofa, but he says they had no sexual activity at all.

Due to “misconduct” by the jury, the case against a former political aide accused of raping a fellow employee within Australia’s Parliament House has been dismissed.

After a night out in Canberra in 2019, Bruce Lehrmann, 27, denies sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins on a minister’s sofa.

He claims they had no sexual activity at all.

But after a 12-day trial and five days of discussion, it was discovered that one juror had looked at scholarly research on sexual assault, leading to the jury’s discharge.

Only the evidence that is admitted into evidence in court must be used by juries to render a decision.

According to Justice Lucy McCallum, a court staff found the research while performing “regular housekeeping” in the jury room.

The judge stated, adding that she had previously forewarned the jury at least 17 times, “It may be that no harm has been done, but that is not a chance I can take.”

Although it is unclear at this time whether there will be a retrial, Justice McCallum scheduled a date in February just in case.

Ms. Higgins waived her right to privacy before disclosing her narrative to authorities in early 2021 and went public with her allegations in prominent media and television interviews.

Her accusations served as the impetus for Australia’s “Me Too moment,” which sparked massive demonstrations over the safety of women, particularly in politics.

On Thursday, outside of court, Ms. Higgins voiced her criticism of the legal system and claimed that the trial had been taxing.

She remarked, “I told the truth to the court, no matter how difficult or unflattering,” “My life has been openly examined and scrutinized in public.”

The legal counsel for Mr. Lehrmann expressed disappointment with the result but declined to make any additional comments.

They also said Ms. Higgins’ “pre-planned remark” outside of court could taint a subsequent retrial, adding that they had reported it to the police and the court for investigation.

It was revealed throughout the trial that Ms. Higgins and Mr. Lehrmann had an office with Linda Reynolds, who was the defense industry minister at the time. They shared beverages with coworkers and others on March 22, 2019.

More than 100,000 people gathered in towns and cities around Australia last year to protest sexism, misogyny, and abuse in society. This spawned further significant protests.

Additionally, it sparked a scathing investigation that revealed that a third of federal parliament employees had experienced sexual harassment.

Because of the notoriety, there had been worries that Mr. Lehrmann might not receive a fair trial, but an earlier request to have the case dismissed was denied.

Tiffanie Turnbull has more to say from Sydney.

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