Bruce Lehrmann's bid to access crucial evidence ahead of his rape trial in Queensland, Australia, has hit a major roadblock. The former Australian politician's staffer is accused of twice raping a woman at a house in regional Queensland in 2021, and he is due to stand trial from November 2nd. However, in a dramatic turn of events, Judge Deborah Richards has ruled that Lehrmann will not be granted access to all footage from a documentary titled 'Silenced', which features his alleged victim, Brittany Higgins.
The ruling comes after Lehrmann issued a subpoena to the producers of the film, Stranger Than Fiction Films, seeking a copy of the documentary, unused footage, and its distribution schedule. The judge concluded that the material was not currently relevant to the trial, stating, “There is no legitimate forensic purpose in this subpoena.” This means that Lehrmann will not be able to scrutinise the documentary's content before his trial begins.
The documentary 'Silenced' aims to highlight how defamation laws are used to silence survivors of sexual assault. The film's producers have argued that Lehrmann's attempts to access the footage were an "abuse of process" and lacked a legitimate forensic purpose. In court, their barrister, Dauid Sibtain, claimed that Lehrmann was trying to suppress evidence that could prejudice potential jurors.
Lehrmann's solicitor, Zali Burrows, had argued that he needed access to the footage to assess whether an injunction against publication prior to or during the trial might be necessary. However, Judge Richards has now set aside Lehrmann's subpoena, leaving him without a clear path forward to accessing the documentary's content.
Brittany Higgins, a former colleague of Lehrmann's, has been involved in other high-profile legal proceedings with him in the past. The case has sparked widespread interest and debate in Australia about the use of defamation laws to silence survivors of sexual assault. For British readers, the story serves as a stark reminder that the #MeToo movement is a global phenomenon, with far-reaching implications for how we understand consent, power dynamics, and the treatment of survivors.