‘Horror movie’: Bruce Lehrmann’s bid to overturn rape finding
Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer has described evidence given by Brittany Higgins in his defamation case as akin to a “horror movie” as she urges an appeal court to overturn a finding that the former Liberal staffer raped Higgins in Parliament House.
In written submissions filed on Tuesday, solicitor Zali Burrows says Federal Court Justice Michael Lee should not have upheld Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson’s truth defence in the multimillion-dollar defamation case over an interview with Higgins broadcast on The Project in 2021.
Lawyer Zali Burrows and her client Bruce Lehrmann.Credit: Edwina Pickles / Kate Geraghty
Lee found on the balance of probabilities last year that Lehrmann, who was an adviser to the then Liberal defence industry minister Linda Reynolds, had raped Higgins in Parliament House in Canberra in 2019.
The judge dismissed Lehrmann’s lawsuit and ordered him to pay Ten $2 million in costs.
Lehrmann has filed an appeal against that decision. A hearing date for the appeal has yet to be set.
Burrows argues that the nature of the rape that Lee found had occurred differs from the alleged assault depicted on The Project, and that this is significant in considering Ten and Wilkinson’s truth defence.
“The broadcast refers to a violent rape, with numerous references to an assault and trauma with references to pain, forceful sex, a struggle with being sweaty couldn’t get him off me, legs pinned open, a crushed leg with a large bruise, Ms Higgins crying telling Mr Lehrmann to stop and saying ‘no’ at least half a dozen times,” the submissions say.
“Her evidence also graphically describes a violent rape that included having an inability to scream like in a horror movie, audible slapping, rough, being pinned Mr Lehrmann going fast, legs pinned open between the side of the couch and other pinned open, there was sweat, shock and couldn’t get herself up from the couch.”
In his decision in April last year, Lee found Lehrmann was “hell-bent on having sex” with Higgins, had encouraged her to drink, and did “not care one way or another whether Ms Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on”.
