Brittany Higgins: Jury in Bruce Lehrmann rape trial sensationally discharged

The jury in the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann has been sensationally discharged.

Chief Justice Lucy McCallum on Thursday morning temporarily took the court behind closed doors over the apparent misconduct of an unnamed juror.

When the court reconvened, the jury — eight women and four men — was discharged and the trial aborted.

Justice McCallum said the juror accessed an article about the prevalence and reasons of false sexual assault complaints.

In her reasoning, Ms McCallum said a juror had accessed academic material outside of what had been provided to the jury, which was discovered when the room the group had been deliberating in was cleaned on Wednesday.

“The matter was promptly brought to my attention,” she said.

“My associates was able to identify what appeared to be the article in question.

“The juror confirmed the article. The subject matter in the paper article was indeed sexual assault.

“That material has entered the jury room which ought not to have.”

Justice McCallum said that it was with “regret” that she ruled a mistrial.

“I have heard an explanation and it may be that no harm has been done but that is not a risk I can take,” she said.

“It is beyond question that the conduct of the jury is as such to abort the trial.

“Both counsel ... agree with my decision in that respect.

“It should go without saying that this is both an unexpected and an unfortunate outcome in this trial.”

One juror swore under their breath and put a hand to their head as it was announced they could not continue.

Brittany Higgins, who was in the courtroom with her partner David Sharaz for the ruling, left court on the brink of tears.

Mr Lehrmann is accused of raping Ms Higgins in Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office at Parliament House after a night out drinking with work colleagues in March 2019.

He has pleaded not guilty to sexual intercourse without her consent and being reckless to her consent.

The jury retired following a 12-day trial and had been deliberating for five days.

On Tuesday, the jury sent a note to the court indicating it was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the rape allegation.

But Justice McCallum asked them to return to their deliberations, saying experience shows juries are able to reach a decision if given more time.

She asked them to calmly and objectively listen to each other’s opinions and try to reach a unanimous decision.

But she reminded them they could not join in a verdict if they did not “honestly and genuinely” think it was the correct one.

“There’s no rush. There’s no time limit,” Justice McCallum said.

A new trial date has been set for February 20, 2023.