The long-anticipated Sofronoff inquiry has been released – and it’s as explosive as anticipated. The inquiry into the conduct of ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold during the Brittany Higgins scandal and subsequent rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann has found a laundry list of appalling behaviour by the Canberra Director of Public Prosecutions. It’s almost certain that Drumgold will be forced to resign, if not struck off as a barrister. Criminal prosecution for perverting the course of justice also seems likely.
The supreme irony is that the inquiry was sparked in the first place by Drumgold’s own claims of police malfeasance and political interference. Claims the inquiry has found were “baseless” in every instance. Inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC specifically lambasted Drumgold for causing “lasting pain to many people” and wasting six months of public money and resources.
Among the astonishing catalogue of misconduct and dishonesty found by the inquiry against Mr Drumgold are:
• That he made representations to the Chief Justice Lucy McCallum in the proceedings against Mr Lehrmann that were “untrue” and “an invention of his own”.
In other words, Drumgold “knowingly lied to the Chief Justice” of the Supreme Court.
• That he was guilty of a “serious breach of duty” by failing to comply with the “golden rule” of disclosure that sits at the heart of a fair trial by failing to disclose documents where there was “simply no doubt” that those police investigation documents should have been disclosed;
• That the DPP failed to adopt the rule of thumb used by wise and experienced prosecutors – “if in doubt, disclose”;
• That the DPP “kept the defence in the dark about the steps he was taking to deny them the documents that meant they were in no position to mount a challenge” […]
And that he “constructed a false narrative to support a claim of legal professional privilege”.
The inquiry found that Drumgold lost objectivity during the prosecution and “did not act with fairness and detachment as was required by his role”. So much so that, even had a conviction resulted (which police briefing notes made clear was unlikely), “the conviction would have been set aside on the ground of a miscarriage of justice”.
If nothing else, the prospect of a fair re-trial, after the first was aborted, was demolished by Drumgold’s outrageous speech outside the courthouse.
He stated that he still believed there was a reasonable prospect of convicting Mr Lehrmann and applauded Ms Higgins for her “bravery, grace and dignity”.
“Mr Drumgold’s comments were improper. They undermined the public’s confidence in the administration of justice and (it) was a failure in his duty as DPP,” Mr Sofronoff said.
He said there was a well-established principle that a prosecutor should not make any public comment about a trial which they have prosecuted.
Mr Drumgold’s comments implied that he “personally believed Ms Higgins’ complaint of rape was true and that, as a consequence, Mr Lehrmann was guilty”.
On the other hand, the report exonerates many of the people involved who’ve been subject to an unrelenting public witch hunt by the media and the chattering classes.
By contrast, Mr Sofronoff found that police investigators and their immediate superior officers “performed their duties in absolute good faith, with great determination although faced with obstacles, and put together a sound case”. They conducted “a thorough investigation,” Mr Sofronoff found […]
Mr Drumgold alleged strong political forces on numerous occasions during the trial. Mr Sofronoff found that “there was not a single piece of evidence that anyone had applied pressure upon Ms Higgins that could legitimately be described as ‘strong political forces’”.
The Australian
Unsurprisingly, the target of Drumgold’s misguided prosecution is not mincing words.
Bruce Lehrmann says the Sofronoff Inquiry has pulled back the covers on “a dark chapter” of the justice system after Walter Sofronoff KC found ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold lied to the Supreme Court […]
“It is credit to Mr Sofronoff and his team for pulling back the covers and exposing what really is a dark chapter for the ACT Justice system. I will have more to say in due course as the full report is made public by the Chief Minister.”
The Australian
That “more to say” will almost certainly be yet more of the blazing legal counterattacks Lehrmann is mounting against his persecutors.