Bruce Lehrmann has pulled out of a talking look at a $110-a-head authorized convention within the wake of his defamation lawsuit loss throughout which a Federal Court docket choose discovered he had raped Brittany Higgins.
Lehrmann was as a consequence of seem on the panel of the “Restoring the Presumption of Innocence” in Sydney in June organised by creator and columnist Bettina Arndt.
Nonetheless, in a publish on the Moms of Sons Fb web page on Tuesday, lower than 24 hours after Justice Michael Lee delivered his judgment, it was introduced that Lehrmann had pulled out of the occasion.
On Monday, Justice Lee dismissed Lehrmann’s lawsuit towards Community 10 and Lisa Wilkinson after discovering – to the civil normal of the stability of possibilities – that he had raped Ms Higgins inside Parliament Home in March 2019.
“In mild of latest occasions, Bruce Lehrmann has determined to not seem on the Restoring the Presumption of Innocence convention,” the publish stated.
“He’s being topic to extraordinarily aggressive pursuit by the media and is anxious that his participation could threaten the viewers, jeopardise this essential occasion and distract from its primary objective.
“ASF and Moms and Sons have accepted his choice, and can discover an alternate presenter whereas guaranteeing that the Lehrmann case nonetheless receives applicable consideration on the convention as a robust instance of trial by media undermining the important authorized precept of the presumption of innocence.”
Tickets for the June 1 occasion price between $110 and $132 with the convention to be held at a yet-to-be-named location at Rushcutters Bay.
Its promoters have described it as a “historic occasion” that “will problem the believe-all-women ideology which has meant women and men are handled very in another way in our felony legislation system”.
“For many years our justice system has been tilted to favour ‘victims’, with the end result that women and men are handled very in another way – by police, the Household Court docket, judges and juries within the felony legislation system,” Ms Arndt stated on the occasion’s web site.
“The presumption of innocence has been tossed apart – completely discarded by our biased media and undermined by common legislative tampering with fundamental ideas of justice,” Arndt writes.
Earlier this month she instructed NCA NewsWire: “As is customary at the sort of skilled gathering, NO ONE WILL BE PAID!
“We’re fundraising for the occasion to make sure individuals resembling legislation college students will be capable of afford the ticket value.”
Lehrmann was requested to talk “as a sufferer of trial by media”, Ms Arndt stated on the time, “since he’s the best-known instance of how the media has signed as much as the #MeToo narrative, quite than doing their correct job”.
Outstanding felony barrister Margaret Cunneen SC, who has defended the likes of Jarryd Hayne and Kurtley Beale, has additionally been introduced as a speaker on the convention.
