Bruce Lehrmann denied access to documentary footage ahead of trial

A court has refused Bruce Lehrmann's bid to obtain copies of all footage from Silenced, a documentary featuring his former colleague Brittany Higgins. Lehrmann had subpoenaed the producers and signalled a possible attempt to prevent the film's broadcast before his Queensland rape trial.

Justice Deborah Richards set aside the subpoena, finding the material was not currently relevant to the upcoming trial. "There is no legitimate forensic purpose in this subpoena," Richards said. Stranger Than Fiction Films appeared in Toowoomba district court on 18 June to respond.

In its filings the company described Silenced as a post #MeToo documentary that "reveals how defamation laws are weaponised to silence survivors." Its barrister, Dauid Sibtain, argued the subpoena was an abuse of process and lacked a legitimate forensic purpose.

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