Dramatic twist as Bruce Lehrmann SACKS his legal team for Queensland rape trial

By STEPHEN GIBBS, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and REX MARTINICH FOR AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: | Updated:

Bruce Lehrmann has sacked the legal team that was to have represented him in his upcoming Queensland rape trial.

The former political staffer filed a letter to Toowoomba District Court on Monday which said his solicitor Rowan King would be replaced by Zali Burrows. 

Ms Burrows is also representing Lehrmann as he appeals his failed Federal Court defamation action against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over her Brittany Higgins interview.  

Lehrmann is accused of raping a woman twice during the morning of October 10, 2021 after they met at a strip club the previous night in Toowoomba, 150km west of Brisbane.

The woman alleged she consumed cocaine with Lehrmann during a night out before consensual sex at a house in east Toowoomba about 4am.

The woman said she was woken about 10am by Lehrmann sexually assaulting her. 

Lehrmann sued Ten and Wilkinson over a February 2021 interview on The Project in which Ms Higgins alleged she had been raped on a couch at Parliament House almost two years earlier.

While Lehrmann was not named, he claimed he was easily identifiable as the onetime colleague Ms Higgins said had sexually assaulted her in the office of Senator Linda Reynolds.

Bruce Lehrmann has sacked the legal team representing him in his Queensland rape trial

Bruce Lehrmann has sacked the legal team representing him in his Queensland rape trial

In April, Justice Michael Lee found Lehrmann had not been defamed and that on the balance of probabilities he had raped Ms Higgins

The defamation case came after Lehrmann, who has always denied raping Ms Higgins, faced a criminal trial which was abandoned due to juror misconduct in 2022.

Lehrmann has not entered pleas over the Toowoomba allegations but his lawyers have indicated he would defend the charges. 

The 29-year-old will soon face a pre-trial hearing at which he is expected to apply for a judge-only hearing. 

Lehrmann was not required to appear in person when the rape case was last mentioned in Toowoomba District Court in late January. 

On that occasion, Mr King told Judge Dennis Lynch that barrister Patrick Wilson would make three pre-trial applications for Lehrmann.

'There's an application for a judge-alone trial, there's also an application in respect to potential protection of records and a joint application in regards to uncharged sexual contact,' Mr King said.

Under Queensland law, a trial can be heard without a jury if 'it is in the interests of justice to do so'.

Lehrmann filed a letter to Toowoomba District Court on Monday which said his solicitor Rowan King would be replaced by Zali Burrows (above)

Lehrmann filed a letter to Toowoomba District Court on Monday which said his solicitor Rowan King would be replaced by Zali Burrows (above)

The grounds for a judge-only trial include the hearings are lengthy or complex or 'there has been significant pre-trial publicity that may affect jury deliberations'.

Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said she would also make three pre-trial applications.

She would seek to join with the defence for an application which can include evidence of 'uncharged acts' to prove a sexual interest between the defendant and alleged victim.

'The applications to be made by the Crown will be a special witness application, an application to lead uncharged sexual activities... and also an application for (privileged communications),' Ms Marco said.

A person granted special witness status can give evidence from a remote witness room or to a courtroom closed to the public.

During Lehrmann's committal hearing, defence barrister Andrew Hoare said the alleged rape victim was too intoxicated to remember giving consent.

He also submitted his client could have mistakenly believed he had consent for further sex acts.

Mr Hoare said the woman obtained emergency contraception after being given a lift to a pharmacy by Lehrmann, and when doing so she ticked a box saying that she needed the pill as her other contraception had failed, and not due to sexual assault.

Judge Lynch has ordered prosecutors and Lehrmann to file their applications by March 14.

Lisa WilkinsonBrisbaneChannel Ten

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