Verdict in the Bruce Lehrmann libel trial – how it happened | Australian Media

Both Lehrmann and Higgins are “unreliable historians,” Lee says

Lee said only two people knew what happened behind the doors and that both Lehrmann and Higgins were “unreliable historians.”

“People give unreliable statements for a variety of reasons and it can often be difficult to distinguish between the false memory and the lie,” he said.

Lee explains why this case was so controversial.

“Some have jumped to conclusions because they are skeptical of complaints of sexual assault and hold stereotypical views about the expected behavior of rape victims, which social scientists refer to as rape myths,” he said.

“Others say they believe all women and abandon their critical faculties by adopting and acting on a #MeToo movement slogan. Some have a predetermined view.”

The technical issues have been resolved and we are operational. Tens of thousands of people watched the decision on YouTube as silence fell.

Judge Lee had only made his decision after a few minutes and will now proceed.

“It’s an isolated incident,” he said previously. “The underlying controversy has become a cause for notoriety.

More from our reporter Kate Lyons in court:

Just before he stood up and adjourned the session, Judge Lee said he had been “drawn to the fact that the court is mute.” The courtroom screens still say “Microphones Muted,” although it’s obviously not as easy as clicking “Unmute,” otherwise we’d be back on by now.

The (presumed) IT guy, whose name I found out is Michael, was called out of the courtroom by the judge's staff. Hopefully they'll be back somewhere and restarting something so the court can resume soon. One can imagine this is a very stressful time and a long delay for Lehrmann, Wilkinson and the other parties to the judgment.

“It seems that the technical problems have been resolved, so we will start again shortly,” says one of the employees.

During the five-week trial and additional hearings, we did not experience such a serious technical problem. Given Judge Lee's insistence on open justice, it is not ideal for the live broadcast to go silent.

This is what our reporter Kate Lyons sees in court:

A man who, if I were a betting woman, I would assume is from the court's IT team has entered the courtroom and is now tinkering with one of the computers here. He's on the phone, pressing some keys on the computer to commit the violation, while presumably trying to sort out the court's technical issues. The judge's staff was in and out of the room. The lawyers all look very relaxed and are chatting away as we wait for the judge to return.

The court has adjourned the session while the audio of the live broadcast is stopped. There are still over 23,000 people watching the live stream.

Lee said the full ruling will be posted on the federal court website immediately after the orders are announced. “However, given the public interest in the case, I intend to provide an oral overview of my findings and the reasons for making the orders.”

Lee said the case is so complex that even summarizing it will be lengthy.

Lee acknowledged the “unexpected detours” and the collateral damage they caused.

“Perhaps it would be more appropriate to describe it as Omnishambles,” he said.

Judge Lee: “Only a man and a woman know with certainty the truth of what happened”

Judge Lee says his judgment is 324 pages long. He says he will give an oral summary because of public interest.

The sound went out on the live feed.