A top lawyer has called for the juror who caused the trial of accused Brittany Higgins rapist, Bruce Lehrmann, to be aborted for their ‘stupid’ actions – adding that the legal proceedings are likely to cost up to $2 million .
It comes as a written verdict revealed that the rogue juror brought three research papers on sexual assault to the jury room — prompting Chief Justice Lucy McCallum to fire the 12 jurors.
Lehrmann was on trial, charged with raping Ms Higgins after a drunken night out in March 2019. He had pleaded not guilty.
It has since been confirmed that the juror’s actions were not considered a violation in the ACT, and no punishment was imposed.
Partner at major law firm Thomson Geer, Justin Quill, suspected that, taking into account the legal costs, the juror’s “failure to comply with the law” would have cost millions of dollars.
A lawyer has called for the abortion of the juror who aborted the trial of accused Brittany Higgins rapist, Bruce Lehrmann, for their ‘stupid’ actions
“I think the juror should be charged,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“Indicting the juror will send a message to the public that if you are called up for jury duty, you must do the right thing and follow the judge’s directions.
“Public awareness is the only good that could come from stopping this process.”
The court was told that the first document found that belonged to the juror related to the “unhelpfulness of trying to quantify” the prevalence of false assault complaints.
After the jurors were fired, the court sheriffs found two more banned documents in the jury room.
According to a written ruling from Justice McCallum, the additional papers also included sexual assault articles and belonged to the same juror.
After the jury’s discharge on Thursday morning, the chief judge told the court the documents had been found “by accident” — when one of the sheriff’s officers accidentally knocked one of the juror’s file folders on the floor.
When the officer picked it up, they discovered what was later corroborated as an academic research paper on the prevalence of false allegations of sexual assault.
The juror said in a closed court that the document had not been used or relied on during the deliberations, but when the court reopened the court, the chief judge said she could not rely on that explanation.
The jurors were expressly and repeatedly instructed not to investigate except what was presented to them in court.
A Justice McCallum spokeswoman said, “The conduct of the juror in question does not constitute an ACT violation.”
Mr Quill said he “disagrees” with the juror’s conduct which is not considered a violation.
“The judge warned them 17 times not to conduct their own investigation, which I think is a condition the judge imposes on the juror,” he said.
He added in a column written for the Herald Sun that aside from the “emotional costs” for those in the trial, he suspected the juror’s actions would have pushed taxpayers back $2 million.
Ms Higgins gave an impassioned speech out of court after the jury was dismissed.
Bruce Lehrmann was on trial, charged with raping Ms Higgins after a drunken night out in March 2019. He had pleaded innocent
She was visibly moved and her hands were shaking.
“I chose to keep my mouth shut… to speak my mind and share my experiences with others,” she said, before recounting a version of the events of her courtroom experience.
Lehrmann’s legal team has since referred Ms Higgins to police because her emotional out-of-court speech was disdainful in court.
Mr Quill said he found Ms Higgins’ speech “unwise”.
“I would have waited for the legal process to be completed. That said, the process would have been an extremely traumatic experience,” he said.
“If I had been on her team, I would have done everything I could to make her say nothing.
“But in my view, what she said wasn’t that harmful. From the point of view of contempt of court, she is the only person who does not have to say alleged rape, because a jury who understands her point of view is clear that she was raped.”
The young political staffer had also said her life had been “publicly scrutinized” during the trial, while criticizing the justice system.
Mr Quill pointed out that the system allows all alleged victims of sexual assault to remain anonymous.
Partner at major law firm Thomson Geer, Justin Quill, said juror should be charged
“When you analyze whether the system works, you have to think that this is not like other cases, because this is where Ms Higgins can be identified,” he said.
“Normally, alleged rape victims cannot be identified. But here Mrs. Higgins chose to waive her right to remain anonymous.’
On Thursday, Judge McCallum said she couldn’t take the “risk” with the jury after the banned documents were found.
“It has come to my attention that one of you has been investigating issues in the case and material has entered the jury room that should not have happened,” she told the court.
“I’ve heard a statement and it may be that no damage has been done, but that’s not a risk I can take. I fired that juror and I have to fire you all.
“Can I please convey my sincere gratitude for the hard work you have done in this process.
“With those comments, you’re fired and you’re free to leave.”
Another trial has been moved to February.
Ms Higgins gave impassioned speech out of court after jury sacked
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