The man accused of raping former political staffer Brittany Higgins at Parliament House is set to stand trial in mid-2022.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At a directions hearing on Thursday, ACT Supreme Court registrar Jayne Reece tentatively listed the case of Bruce Lehrmann for a four-week jury trial beginning on June 6.
Mr Lehrmann, 26, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of engaging in sexual intercourse without consent.
He denies claims any sexual activity, consensual or otherwise, took place with Ms Higgins in the office of federal government minister Linda Reynolds on the day in question in March 2019.
Both he and Ms Higgins worked for the minister at the time.
Ms Reece fixed the trial dates on Thursday after ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC told her he was "largely ready to go", having already served material including an indictment and case statement on Mr Lehrmann's legal team.
Mr Drumgold said the matter was "highly unlikely to settle" and he could not see any real benefit in trying to resolve it through negotiations at a criminal case conference.
MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:
He indicated it would probably take two weeks of the trial for the Crown to run through the evidence against Mr Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann, who is on bail, was not required to appear on Thursday and was represented in court by solicitor Warwick Korn.
The case is set to be mentioned again on a number of occasions between December and the start of the trial.
Ms Reece also listed the matter for a criminal case conference in February next year, despite Mr Drumgold's belief this was not likely to achieve much.
Ms Higgins has consented to being identified by media as the alleged victim.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark canberratimes.com.au
- Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram