Bruce Lehrmann has made a last-ditch effort to clear his name of findings he sexually assaulted an intoxicated Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.
The disgraced ex-Liberal staffer has taken his case to the High Court in his third bid to win a Federal Court defamation case over a Network Ten report of the rape allegation.
In April 2024, Justice Michael Lee dismissed the civil lawsuit, describing it as an “omnishambles”.
The judge’s findings that Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins on the balance of probabilities were upheld on appeal by the Full Federal Court in December.
The allegations were made public during an explosive interview on The Project in February 2021.
Lehrmann has now escalated the case to the High Court.
The 30-year-old’s application, prepared by barristers Gabriella Rubagotti and Bryanna Workman, said Justice Lee compromised his findings by “doing his own research” having obtained extraneous non-legal material.
“Here, the primary judge’s impartiality was compromised and the judicial process has fundamentally miscarried,” they wrote.
The judge acted under subconscious influence, wrongly finding Ms Higgins did not consent to the sexual intercourse or that a “reckless” Lehrmann was aware she may not have been consenting, the barristers argued.
The material which allegedly infected the judge’s decision includes research that victims can remain passive or immobile during a sexual assault as well as an article on rape myths.
Lehrmann’s High Court challenge targets the judge’s decision to uphold a justification defence by Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson that the rape statements made during the interview were substantially true.
He wants the High Court to toss the decisions of Justice Lee and the Full Court so that he can then be paid out an amount of damages.
The former Liberal staffer will have to argue his case for special leave before the court decides to hold a full-blown hearing.
His lawyers have urged the court to grant leave, saying the case was a matter of public importance.
A criminal case against Lehrmann in the ACT was derailed due to juror misconduct.
A further trial was ruled out and no findings have been made against him in a court of criminal law.
If Lehrmann loses his High Court bid, he could be forced into bankruptcy due to court orders he pay a $2 million legal bill to Ten.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028