The ACT’s top prosecutor does not believe the rape trial of former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann was extraordinary and says he maintained objectivity throughout the case.
Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold is the first witness at an independent inquiry into how the territory’s justice system handled rape allegations made by Mr Lehrmann’s ex-colleague Brittany Higgins.
The ACT government established the inquiry after accusations by police and prosecutors about each other’s conduct during the case.
Former Queensland solicitor-general Walter Sofronoff heads up the inquiry which is examining how territory police, prosecutors and a victim support service handled Ms Higgins’ allegations.
On Monday, Mr Drumgold said his role as a prosecutor was “not pursue one side of the case over the other” and to make sure a case was “adequately presented before a court in accordance with the law”.
He said it was critical for a prosecutor to be objective and failure to do so could cause a miscarriage of justice and erode the community’s trust.
Asked if he had ever lost objectivity during the case, Mr Drumgold said he did not believe so.
“(The case) was not extraordinary, in my sense. From my approach, factually, it was like many other trials that I had done,” Mr Drumgold said.
“There were facets of this trial that meant that I had to be particularly protective of elements … I had to keep the publicity out of the courtroom, essentially.
“It was a high-profile case. The concern to me was to make sure that a jury weren’t influenced by the things that were happening that weren’t part of this case.”
Mr Drumgold said he made sure to communicate this to the jury, including in his opening statement at the beginning of the trial where he told them to ignore what they thought they knew about the case.
Mr Lehrmann faced an ACT Supreme Court trial in October 2022 but juror misconduct meant a verdict was not reached.
Prosecutors later dropped the charge against Mr Lehrmann because of concerns about the impact a second trial would have on Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Mr Lehrmann denies raping Ms Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.
He made an unexpected appearance at the inquiry on Monday and sat at the back of the tribunal room.
Mr Lehrmann’s defence lawyer Steven Whybrow will also give evidence to the inquiry in the first block of public hearings.
By Maeve Bannister in Canberra
