‘That was quite misleading’: Justice Lee blasts ‘conduct of Network Ten’ after Lehrmann verdict
Justice Michael Lee has blasted Network 10 for its “quite misleading” claims of complete vindication following his findings earlier this month that, on the balance of probability, Bruce Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.
Lee made the comments in the Federal Court on Wednesday, where it will be decided the amount Lehrmann will have to pay in costs.
“There are various aspects of the conduct of Network Ten which cause me concern,” Lee said.
“The various assertions of Network Ten spokesman immediately after the judgment, and without even reading the judgment.
“I don’t consider my examination of the respondents’ conduct to be devoid or divorced of reality in order to involve picking apart and dissecting the respondents conduct by reference to some sort of standard of perfection.”
He later brought this up again.
“Notwithstanding that Network Ten apparently thought it appropriate for a period of 48 hours following the delivery of the judgment to go around and effectively say it had been vindicated in relation to all aspects of its conduct.
“That was quite misleading. I made it perfectly plain that what occurred in this case was that the respondents fell well short of a standard of reasonableness in the credulous why they went to bed reporting these allegations, and I was quite clear about that.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Deputy Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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