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A former judge considered “perceived bias” while leading a public inquiry into the way Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial was handled, a judge ruled.
Former ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold is suing the ACT Government and a board of inquiry over a damning report into his conduct during Mr Lehrmann’s prosecution.
Drumgold himself called for the public inquiry because he believed “political forces” prevented the Australian Federal Police from properly investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations.
The inquiry was held in May last year before former Queensland Supreme Court judge Walter Sofronoff KC.
Sofronoff found that Drumgold had engaged in gross negligence and unethical behavior, saying he treated criminal litigation like a “poker game” in which the prosecutor could “hide all the cards.”
Drumgold launched legal proceedings alleging that Sofronoff showed bias during the investigation, largely due to his extensive communications with Janet Albrechtsen, a columnist for The Australian.
On Monday, Acting Judge Stephen Kaye ruled that Mr. Sofronoff’s communications with Ms. Albrechtsen before and during the investigation “were such that an impartial lay observer” would conclude that he was influenced by her articles.
The Board of Inquiry was launched after ACT DPP Shane Drumgold (pictured) claimed there was political interference in the investigation into Mr Lehrmann.
Walter Sofronoff made 55 calls to Janet Albrechtsen (pictured), columnist for The Australian
The court will hear further arguments on Monday about the damages Drumgold is entitled to.
Judge Kaye ruled that chapters four, five and six of Mr. Sofronoff’s 600-page investigative report were influenced by Ms. Albrechtsen.
Those three chapters include conclusions about the way the prosecution was handled in Mr. Lehrmann’s trial, the trial itself, and the consequences of the mistrial, all of which span approximately 113 pages.
Drumgold’s lawyer Dan O’Gorman had told the ACT Supreme Court during a three-day hearing in February that Albrechtsen’s articles were “negative” and that she “poisoned” Sofronoff’s mind.
Sofronoff and Albrechtsen exchanged 269 communications over approximately 169 days since she first contacted him in February last year, the court heard.
They also had a private lunch together in Queensland.
Between February and July 2023 alone, the court heard that Sofronoff made 65 phone calls to journalists, totaling almost ten hours.
Of those, 55 were for people from The Australian, predominantly Ms Albrechtsen, for a total of seven and a half hours.
During the month-long board of inquiry, Mr Sofronoff made ten calls to The Australian, eight of which were to Ms Albrechtsen.
Lehrmann (pictured) stood trial before the ACT Supreme Court in October
O’Gorman told the court that an impartial observer would question why private engagement with the media was necessary during the investigation into Lehrmann’s trial.
Drumgold resigned last August after the 600-page report was delivered.
It contained a number of findings against him, including the fact that he knowingly misled the territory’s chief justice at trial and lost objectivity.
Drumgold’s last day in office was supposed to be Sept. 1, even though he has been on paid medical leave since May, when he spent five days being questioned on the witness stand during the investigation.
He has reportedly continued to receive a weekly salary of $9,266.