The legal team representing Bruce Lehrmann, who has been accused of raping Brittany Higgins, has applied for the trial to be halted after Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech.
On Sunday, Wilkinson won the Logie for Most Outstanding News Coverage or Public Affairs Report. She won the award for her coverage and work on Higgins’ case. Higgins famously did a one-on-one interview with Wilkinson, which broke the story.
While accepting the award, Wilkinson opened up about covering the case: “I knew it from the very first phone call I had early last year with a young woman whose name she told me was Brittany Higgins.
“Four incredibly intense sleepless weeks later, when our story went to air, the entire country knew the name, Brittany Higgins.
“As Brittany warned me before we went to air, her story would be seen by many of the most powerful people in this country not as a human problem but as a political problem.”
However, Wilkinsons moving speech may have legal consequences. The Australian has reported that Lehrmann’s barrister Steve Whybrow has taken action after Wilkinson’s Logies speech.
He has asked the court to delay court proceedings arguing that Wilkinson’s acceptance speech has been so highly publicised it will impact Lehremann’s ability to have a fair trial.
The Logies was watched by over 800,000 viewers and naturally generated plenty of stories and headlines.
Twitter has weighed in.
https://twitter.com/Hellharbour/status/1539016267398410240
https://twitter.com/VF_LSR8SC/status/1538538319436390401
I saw that Lisa Wilkinson and The Project won a Logie for the Brittany Higgins interview.
Reminder: she was falling-down drunk, accessed a Minister's office, alleged rape.
The case has not yet proceeded, so no conviction.
It smacks of the ABC's standard of Portering. /2
— TheRoadknight (@RoadknightThe) June 20, 2022
The judge presiding on the case will now consider the application.
