Jury in trial of Brittany Higgins’ accused rapist warned at least 17 times before the case collapse

The jury in the trial of the accused rapist of Brittany Higgins was told at least 17 times not to conduct their own investigation and had to say to themselves, ‘Chief Justice McCallum isn’t here, so I probably shouldn’t be doing this’.

But a rogue juror still brought banned documents to court and torpedoed the trial on Thursday.

The jury should have deliberated on Bruce Lehrmann’s case in the ACT Supreme Court, but instead, Judge Lucy McCallum fired them and aborted the trial for “misconduct” by a juror.

She told the court that one of the sheriff’s officers was cleaning up after Wednesday’s proceedings when they 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 in question will not be punished for suspending the nearly four-week trial.

Lehrmann had been charged with raping the ex-Liberal staffer in Parliament House after a night out in Canberra in March 2019. He pleaded not guilty to a single charge of sexual intercourse without consent.

On Thursday morning, he was able to leave the court, knowing that he may not have to go back until February 20, 2023 – when the trial is scheduled to start all over again.

Justice McCallum said a new trial is likely to take place in February 2023. Bruce Lehrmann is pictured out of court with his legal team on Thursday

Brittany Higgins burst into tears as she made a statement outside the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday

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 fact that it was found in the jury room at all, Judge McCallum said, meant it could have influenced that juror’s contribution to the deliberations and affected the opinions of all 12 members.

After the jurors were fired, the chief judge told the court, “In the course of the trial, by my calculation, the jury must have received at least 17 and possibly more warnings.”

The judge then quoted lines from her opening speech to the jury on the day they were enlisted on Oct. 4.

“You must not attempt to conduct your own investigation or to fake any aspect of the offense or to consider any outside evidence about the use of alcohol or about any matter that may arise during the trial.

“You must rely solely on the evidence you hear in this courtroom.”

Justice McCallum said they should only learn anything new about the trial when they are in her presence.

Brittany Higgins held hands with boyfriend David Sharaz as she arrived at the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday

“If you find yourself getting curious and doing internet research or talking to people about their areas of expertise, think to yourself, ‘Well, Chief Justice McCallum isn’t here, so I probably shouldn’t be doing this.'”

She also made it clear that jurors are not “investigators” and should not identify themselves as such.

In addition, they were given warnings before being fired at the end of each day during the trial.

Judge McCallum would unequivocally remind jurors not to check social media, read or watch the news, Google the case, talk to anyone about the trial, or do their own research.

She gave them alternatives, such as walking in the woods, walking the dog, or relaxing at the gym.

When the trial was over, Lehrmann’s lawyer Steven Whybrow told the media it would be “inappropriate” to comment due to the impending trial.

Ms. Higgins, on the other hand, gave an impassioned speech claiming that the justice system was unbalanced.