Members of the jury panel within the trial of the person accused of raping Brittany Higgins will probably be requested to excuse themselves by the decide in the event that they comply with Higgins on Twitter or noticed her communicate concerning the allegations at any public occasion.
The ACT supreme court docket chief justice, Lucy McCallum, revealed her occupied with empanelment of the jury at a quick pretrial point out on Friday, saying she would ask potential jurors “to look their souls about whether or not they are often neutral”.
Bruce Lehrmann has pleaded not responsible to sexually assaulting Higgins, a former Liberal staffer, at Parliament Home in Canberra in 2019. The case goes to trial on 4 October for as much as seven weeks of hearings.
On Friday McCallum informed the court docket she meant to inform members of the jury panel they need to search to excuse themselves in the event that they attended any occasion at which Higgins had spoken publicly concerning the allegations.
“I additionally thought to flush out any one that follows Ms Higgins on Twitter,” she stated.
“Anybody who has participated in these occasions or follows her on Twitter ought to come ahead and search to be excused, or a minimum of for consideration as to whether or not they can [participate] – it might rely why they had been there, if it was a safety guard or journalist they wouldn’t essentially have to be excused.”
McCallum stated she meant to take away anybody who has “successfully indicated … that they’re a champion of the trigger” or anybody with robust views on the opposite facet.
“It’s exhausting – it’s very exhausting,” she stated. “I’m simply going to must ask individuals to look their souls and ask if they are often neutral.”
Past that, potential jurors would solely be given normal steering together with to “hear fastidiously to the witnesses”, she stated.
McCallum stated she won’t search to exclude “anybody who is aware of who Lisa Wilkinson is”, referring to the Channel 10 journalist who performed a TV interview with Higgins.
McCallum requested Lehrmann’s defence workforce to supply any materials she may want aside from the crown’s witness listing earlier than getting ready remarks to the jury to determine “every other particular person I ought to point out or connection that I ought to search to delve into”.
The matter was stood over to Thursday 29 September for McCallum to cope with ultimate pretrial points together with a attainable privilege declare over materials created by the Australia federal police regarding Higgins’ interviews.