Former Liberal Party staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s bid to have rape charges permanently halted will be back in a Queensland court next month.
An application by the 30-year-old, seeking to have the rape case stopped, was mentioned briefly in the District Court in Ipswich today.
Mr Lehrmann appeared via telephone hook-up, as did his Sydney-based lawyer, Zali Burrows, and the Crown prosecutor.
But the substance of Mr Lehrmann’s new application, for a stay of proceedings and a declaration that intercepted phone calls between Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers and Queensland police were “illegally obtained”, was not discussed at length.
Instead, Judge Dennis Lynch ordered that Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers file an outline of arguments and material by July 14 and the Crown respond by July 21, ahead of a hearing in the Toowoomba District Court later in the month.
Mr Lehrmann faces two counts of rape, alleged to have occurred in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, in October 2021.
Today’s brief hearing came after Mr Lehrmann lodged the new application earlier this week to have the matter halted.
The ABC can reveal that Mr Lehrmann has also now asked Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) to launch an inquiry into the way the rape case was investigated and prosecuted.
Mr Lehrmann has requested that the corruption body conduct a review and investigation into police, the prosecution, and government officials linked to the case.
A CCC spokesperson said: “The CCC does not confirm or comment on any complaint or investigation, referrals to other agencies or matters before the court.”
Mr Lehrmann’s District Court application and the CCC complaint follow weeks of legal wrangling between the Crown and Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer.
Mr Lehrmann has not yet been required to enter a plea, and the matter returns to court in Toowoomba on July 25.