A judge has ruled against former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann in his legal bid to get access to raw footage of a documentary which features Brittany Higgins ahead of his Queensland criminal trial later this year.
Mr Lehrmann is charged with two counts of rape alleged to have occurred in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, in October 2021.
He has indicated he will plead not guilty and is due to face trial in November.
Earlier this year, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer filed a subpoena, seeking access to material related to a film called Silenced, arguing its release was necessary to maintain the integrity and fundamental principle of a fair trial.
This included copies of the scheduled distribution of the film, final version, transcripts, and all raw, unedited b-roll and promotional footage relating to Brittany Higgins.
Opposing the subpoena, last month lawyers for the filmmakers argued at a hearing in the Toowoomba District Court that there was “no legitimate forensic purpose” to provide the material to Mr Lehrmann.
Brittany Higgins featured in the documentary Silenced. (ABC News: Donal Sheil)
On Monday, Judge Deborah Richards agreed, finding it would not materially assist Mr Lehrmann’s case.
The court heard the non-fiction film had been described by its makers as an adaptation of a book, which looked at the “silencing of women and journalists after the Me Too movement through defamation laws”.
Judge Richards told the court one of the women interviewed was Ms Higgins, who spoke of giving evidence in criminal proceedings, and defamation proceedings brought by the defendant.
“The film covers her personal experience and does not include any information that was not already in the public domain,” she said.
Brittany Higgins ‘not a witness’
Judge Richards acknowledged there had been significant publicity generated through the criminal proceedings but told the court that matter had also “to an extent remained in the public eye due to civil proceedings pursued by the defendant”.
“I accept that there has been significant publicity surrounding the defendant, that publicity relates to a previous allegation of rape by a person other than this complainant,” she said.
Judge Richards told the court the basis of Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer’s claim was that, if the film was seen by jurors in his upcoming trial, it will or will be likely to “poison their minds” against Mr Lehrmann, due to a sympathetic portrayal of Ms Higgins in the documentary.
However, Judge Richards said “Ms Higgins is not a witness in this trial”.
“Whether she is mentioned at all in the trial is a matter for the defendant to decide,” she said.
Judge Richards told the court the film “raises nothing new in terms of allegations already aired by Ms Higgins”.
“It also does not mention this trial or the allegations raised in this trial,” she said.
The subpoena was set aside, and the filmmakers indicated they were seeking legal costs from Mr Lehrmann.
