Shane Drumgold sues the board of inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann’s case after damning report

Shane Drumgold, the former Director of Public Prosecutions of ACT, is suing a commission of inquiry over a damning report that ended his career.

Mr Drumgold tendered his resignation earlier in August following a 600-page report, written by former judge Walter Sofronoff, which contained a series of findings against him, including that he had knowingly induced misled the ACT Supreme Court.

The report is the result of a commission of inquiry – held at the request of Mr Drumgold – which looked into the way the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann was handled by police and prosecutors in October from last year.

Mr Lehrmann was tried by the ACT Supreme Court in October after his former colleague Brittany Higgins alleged he raped her in Parliament after a night out in 2019. He strongly denies the allegations.

The trial initially failed because a rogue juror brought banned research material to court, before Mr Drumgold dropped the case altogether in December, citing concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.

A month before the charge was dropped, Mr Drumgold emailed police calling for a commission of inquiry – the ACT’s version of a royal commission – because he believed the Australian Federal Police had conspired not to charge Mr. Lehrmann.

In his conclusions, Mr Sofronoff said he was deeply disturbed by Mr Drumgold’s behavior, comparing him to Pontius Pilate, a Roman governor who gave in to demands to crucify Jesus.

The case between Mr Drumgold and the inquiry is due to be heard on September 14 – two weeks after he is due to leave the DPP’s office.

The judge also found that Mr Drumgold knowingly lied to Chief Justice Lucy McCallum about Wilkinson’s infamous Logies speech – in which she spoke on TV about Ms Higgins’ allegations as if they were true, despite the impending jury trial.

After his resignation was announced, Mr Drumgold slammed Mr Sofronoff’s findings in a defiant statement, criticizing the report for focusing on him rather than how sexual assault cases are handled within the judicial system.

“In my mind, the handling of the case reflected the chronic problem in Australia with how our legal institutions deal with allegations of sexual abuse,” he wrote.

“I was hoping that through a post-mortem analysis of a subject, we could better understand why 87 out of 100 women do not report their experience? »

Mr Drumgold admitted to making ‘errors’ during the case but ‘strongly disputed’ the claim that he was ‘dishonest’ and ‘engaged in deliberate or underhanded conduct during the trial’.

“While I accept that my conduct was far from perfect, my decisions were all made in good faith, under intense and at times crippling pressure, in the midst of an increasingly unmanageable workload,” did he declare.

Mr Drumgold also spoke of his upbringing in public accommodation, saying that ‘my career was driven by a fire that was burning inside… Unfortunately I find that the fire has been put out and, despite my best efforts , I can’t turn it back on”.

“While I dispute many of the findings of the investigation, I accept that the premature publicity that has surrounded me means that my office, the courts, and especially the ACT public, could not currently have confidence in the exercise of the functions of director of public services.

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