The lawyer who will represent Bruce Lehrmann in his appeal over a major defamation loss wants to keep his identity secret for fear of harassment.
Hearings in which the former Liberal staffer will seek to overturn the Federal Court’s findings are not expected to be held for another year, but the person who will argue the 29-year-old’s case will not be revealed until closer to the deadline. moment. .
During a brief hearing Wednesday, Lehrmann’s attorney, Zali Burrows, wrote the prospective attorney’s name on a piece of paper and showed it to the other parties at the bar table.
“Until he has a hearing date for the appeal and I have formally informed him, he wishes to remain anonymous simply because he does not wish to be trolled or harassed, for example, as I have done,” Ms Burrows told the court. .
Taking into account the parties’ availability, Judge Wendy Abraham said the appeal hearing would likely take place in August.
“I am not in a position to list the matter, that must be done by the court, but can I ask the parties to retain the dates of August 19 to 22 to include them?” he said.
Lehrmann is appealing a ruling in April that he was not defamed in reports that he sexually assaulted Brittany Higgins in Parliament because the allegations were substantially true.
The 29-year-old had sued Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over a February 2021 broadcast on The Project in which Ms Higgins aired the allegations.
Channel Ten has billed Bruce Lehrmann $2.5 million for his failed defamation case
Pictured is Lisa Wilkinson delivering her Logies speech in June 2022.
The court ruled in October that Lehrmann would not have to pay $200,000 for the appeal to move forward after Judge Abraham determined it was not in the public interest to force him to do so.
“The sentence against him is extremely serious,” the judge said at the time.
“The impact it will have on him if he is denied that right (to appeal) is obvious.”
Judge Abraham also allowed Lehrmann to stay previous court orders that he pay $2 million in legal fees to Ten for the costs of defending the defamation proceedings.
Ten hoped to hinder the appeal by forcing him to pay the $200,000 as security in case he lost his appeal and was responsible for paying the broadcaster’s costs.
Judge Lee found, on a balance of probabilities, that Brittany Higgins (left, with partner David Sharaz) was raped by Bruce Lehrmann in 2019.
Ms Burrows told a previous hearing that Mr Lehrmann’s financial status and reputation were so dire that his only chance of earning an income might be to open an Onlyfans account.
He lived off Centrelink benefits partly because the station contributed to his image as a rapist, he said.
“They are one of the factors explaining why he is virtually unemployed,” Ms Burrows added.
Judge Michael Lee dealt a crushing blow to Lehrmann in his April ruling, dismissing his defamation claim and concluding that, considering the odds, he raped Higgins in a Parliament office in March 2019.
It came after a criminal case Lehrmann was facing was dropped in 2022 with no findings against him.
“Having escaped the lion’s den, Mr. Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat,” Judge Lee said in his decision.
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