Bruce Lehrmann’s big move in wake of lawsuit loss

Bruce Lehrmann has pulled out of a speaking appearance at a $110-a-head legal conference in the wake of his defamation lawsuit loss during which a Federal Court judge found he had raped Brittany Higgins. Lehrmann was due to appear on the panel of the “Restoring the Presumption of Innocence” in Sydney in June organised by author and columnist Bettina Arndt. However, in a post on the Mothers of Sons Facebook page on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Justice Michael Lee delivered his judgment, it was announced that Lehrmann had pulled out of the event. On Monday, Justice Lee dismissed Lehrmann’s lawsuit against Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson after finding – to the civil standard of the balance of probabilities – that he had raped Ms Higgins inside Parliament House in March 2019. “In light of recent events, Bruce Lehrmann has decided not to appear at the Restoring the Presumption of Innocence conference,” the post said. “He is being subject to extremely aggressive pursuit by the media and is concerned that his participation may threaten the audience, jeopardise this important event and distract from its main purpose. “ASF and Mothers and Sons have accepted his decision, and will find an alternative presenter while ensuring that the Lehrmann case still receives appropriate attention at the conference as a powerful example of trial by media undermining the vital legal principle of the presumption of innocence.” Tickets for the June 1 event cost between $110 and $132 with the conference to be held at a yet-to-be-named location at Rushcutters Bay. Its promoters have described it as a “historic event” that “will challenge the believe-all-women ideology which has meant men and women are treated very differently in our criminal law system”. “For decades our justice system has been tilted to favour ‘victims’, with the result that men and women are treated very differently – by police, the Family Court, judges and juries in the criminal law system,” Ms Arndt said on the event’s website. “The presumption of innocence has been tossed aside – totally discarded by our biased media and undermined by regular legislative tampering with basic principles of justice,” Arndt writes. Earlier this month she told NCA NewsWire: “As is customary at this type of professional gathering, NO ONE WILL BE PAID! “We are fundraising for the event to ensure people such as law students will be able to afford the ticket price.” Lehrmann was asked to speak “as a victim of trial by media”, Ms Arndt said at the time, “since he is the best-known example of how the media has signed up to the #MeToo narrative, rather than doing their proper job”. Prominent criminal barrister Margaret Cunneen SC, who has defended the likes of Jarryd Hayne and Kurtley Beale, has also been announced as a speaker at the conference.