Bruce Lehrmann will forever be viewed as a rapist in the minds of many Australians, regardless of what a high-profile defamation trial finds, a court has heard.
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"Irrespective of your honour's judgement, irrespective of facts, irrespective of the evidence, he will, for all time, be in their minds, the person who raped Brittany Higgins," Steven Whybrow SC said.
Mr Lehrmann's barrister referenced Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, when he said his client had faced: "Sentence first, trial later."
On Friday, the Federal Court filled with lawyers, concerned parties and interested onlookers for the final day of defamation proceedings brought forward by Mr Lehrmann against Lisa Wilkinson and Network Ten.
Justice Michael Lee is hearing closing submissions from the man's counsel, who are summarising why they say their client was identified and defamed by a 2021 The Project interview with Ms Higgins.
Among multiple claims, the judge has also heard Ms Higgins was to blame for the month-long trial after she aired the Parliament House rape allegation to media before starting a formal police case.
'Telling complete falsehoods'
"This is a contest between the evidence of two young people. One, who says she was subjected to a vicious, merciless sexual assault by a colleague at her workplace," Mr Whybrow said.
"And the other one, who has consistently and emphatically denied any such thing happened."
On Friday, it was Mr Whybrow's turn to attack Ms Higgins' credibility, describing her as a person whose evidence could not be relied on.
"She has demonstrated herself to be repeatedly and in various forums over a significant period of time, less than frank or honest in giving evidence," he said.
"Whenever she has faced a situation where she has some legal or moral or ethical obligation to tell the truth, she has demonstrated she has no qualms .. telling complete falsehoods."
As well as the "fabricated" rape allegation, which Mr Whybrow said Ms Higgins made up to explain being found naked in a ministerial office, the barrister said she doubled down by lying to a number parties.
Mr Whybrow also said she lied about a photograph of a leg bruise, that Mr Lehrmann tried to kiss her a week before the alleged rape, and that her date on the night left her because her colleagues bullied him.
Interjecting, Justice Lee said he did not believe it was "particularly material" for Ms Higgins to have mistaken exactly when she reported her claim to bosses and police in the following days.
There were a range of actions, the judge said, "she took immediately after [the alleged rape] which are consistent with the fact that something bad had happened to her".
Mr Whybrow claimed Ms Higgins' memory on these processes was, in fact, vital.
'Virus of madness'
"Oh, if only she had taken the advice of police not to litigate this matter in the media," Mr Whybrow said, earlier.
"If that had happened, we would not have had what appears to have been a virus of madness that spread amongst everybody from politicians to journalists.
"If that'd happened, we wouldn't be here."
The trial has repeatedly heard Mr Whybrow accusing Ms Higgins of fabricating the allegation, and Mr Lehrmann's claims that no sexual act occurred at all.
On Friday, the barrister said the case had turned into a "national, and at times, international spectacle" and was about "lies, largely".
"Lies, damned lied, and CCTV," he said, tweaking a quote often attributed to Mark Twain.
'The rules didn't apply'
During closing submissions, the court heard Ms Higgins' interviews with Ms Wilkinson and news.com.au's Samantha Maiden sent sub judice, being the prejudicing of a criminal trial jury, "out the window".
She soon after formally commenced a police case.
"The rights of the individual ceased to exist," Mr Whybrow said.
"How dare we have due process or the presumption of innocence?"
A Logies acceptance speech given by Ms Wilkinson, dedicated to Ms Higgins' "unwavering courage", delayed Mr Lehrmann's criminal trial last year.
"Just another example of the rules didn't seem to apply anymore," the barrister said.
Mr Lehrmann has also previously described an apology speech former prime minister Scott Morrison gave in parliament in February 2022 as "stupid".
Mr Whybrow said he could not believe those involved in putting together The Project story contended it did not act like a "large stone in a pond", with far reaching ripple effects.
"Why did this get broadcast at all?" he asked.
He said politicians who attended Ms Higgins' 2022 National Press Club speech, which led to civil action against the ABC, were "lauding somebody whose allegations have not been tested".
'Too wedded to their source'
On Friday afternoon, Justice Lee heard from Mr Lehrmann's other silk, Matthew Richardson SC, on why Ten had unreasonably put together the broadcast in question.
Mr Richardson said Ms Wilkinson and producer Angus Llewellyn had been "too wedded to their source" and Ms Higgins' account of the alleged incident.
The barrister again brought up Ms Higgins' leg bruise photo, about which she changed her tune during the proceedings and said she could not be as certain as during the criminal trial Mr Lehrmann had caused it.
"Not a great start that Channel Ten put this to air as a physical corroboration of a physical assault," he said.
Mr Richardson said neither Ms Wilkinson and Mr Llewellyn had sought metadata for the image or to see the original to know exactly when it was taken.
"So keen for their story they don't utter a breath of challenge," he said.
Ms Higgins signed a statutory declaration stating the image was legitimate.
But the barrister said the pair "harboured private doubts" about Ms Higgins' claim she lost certain data when her phone died but that she had saved the crucial image.
"These two knew it was rubbish," Mr Richardson said, referring to Ms Wilkinson telling Mr Llewellyn she was "confused" about Ms Higgins' explanation but still broadcast the image.
The defamation trial
Mr Lehrmann claims The Project story identified him as the man accused of raping Ms Higgins inside the ministerial office of Senator Linda Reynolds in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after a "drunken night out".
He is seeking damages from journalist Lisa Wilkinson and Ten after settling separate defamation suits with the ABC and News Life Media for reporting and broadcasting the same allegation.
MORE TRIAL COVERAGE:
Mr Lehrmann has always denied raping Ms Higgins and no findings have been made against him.
His criminal trial was aborted last October due to juror misconduct, with the charge levelled at him later discontinued over concerns for Ms Higgins' mental health.
Justice Lee has reserved his decision until a later date.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Canberra Rape Crisis Centre 6247 2525.
Tim Piccione
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
Tim is a journalist with the Canberra Times covering the ACT courts. He came to the nation's capital via the Daily Advertiser in Wagga. Contact: tim.piccione@canberratimes.com.au.
