Director of Public Prosecutions (Ireland)

New report into Lehrmann prosecution mires case in yet more controversy

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 7, 2023
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The ACT government on Monday officially released the report from the inquiry into the prosecution of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

Key Points: 
  • The ACT government on Monday officially released the report from the inquiry into the prosecution of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.
  • The ACT government said it’s considering charging Sofonoff in relation to releasing the report to journalists ahead of the embargo.

What did the report find?

    • The report makes “several serious findings of misconduct” against former Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold.
    • Despite this, the report found the prosecution was properly brought – in other words, that the decision to prosecute was appropriate.
    • However, Sofronoff does state:
      although I think that police investigators accomplished a thorough investigation, I have found that they made some mistakes.
    • None of these mistakes actually affected the substance of the investigation and none of them prejudiced the case.
    • Likewise, the report finds the victims of crime commissioner acted appropriately, and her support of Higgins didn’t undermine Lehrmann’s presumption of innocence.


Why was the inquiry established?

    • The inquiry was established last year after a public airing of conflict between ACT police and Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold regarding the Lehrmann case.
    • Lehrmann was tried on one count of sexual intercourse without consent in the ACT Supreme Court in October 2022.
    • Read more:
      Lehrmann inquiry: what's a director of public prosecutions or DPP?

Rape myths and the criminal justice system

    • For example, there has been a steady leak of Higgins’ private communications, which weren’t part of the public trial process.
    • This is despite the likelihood that such leaks would undermine confidence in the criminal justice system and are deeply distressing to Higgins.
    • Read more:
      Lehrmann retrial abandoned because of 'a significant and unacceptable risk' to Brittany Higgins' life

Public confidence in the criminal justice system

    • In setting up the inquiry, the ACT government acknowledged “the need for public confidence in the criminal justice system”.
    • Indeed the report, and particularly the early publication of its findings in the media, have wrought further damage to the criminal justice system, brought more harm to those involved, and will most likely undermine confidence in the system.

Shane Drumgold resigns after sweeping criticisms of his conduct in the Lehrmann case

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, August 6, 2023
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The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, has resigned in the wake of an independent inquiry’s sweeping criticisms of his conduct in the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.

Key Points: 
  • The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, has resigned in the wake of an independent inquiry’s sweeping criticisms of his conduct in the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.
  • The report from the inquiry by Walter Sofronoff, a former Queensland judge, commissioned by the ACT government, accuses Drumgold of serious misconduct and dishonesty.
  • Lehrmann, at the time a Liberal staffer, was accused of raping his then colleague Brittany Higgins in a ministerial office in 2019.
  • The ACT Attorney-General, Shane Rattenbury, said in a Sunday statement that on Thursday he and Drumgold discussed the report.

Lehrmann inquiry: what's a director of public prosecutions or DPP? A legal expert explains

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, May 27, 2023
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Every Australian state and territory, and the Commonwealth itself, has a Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Key Points: 
  • Every Australian state and territory, and the Commonwealth itself, has a Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
  • Their main role is to initiate and conduct prosecutions of serious crimes in the superior courts.
  • If police charge a suspect for a serious crime, they prepare a brief of evidence and provide it to the office of the DPP.
  • If the prosecutor decides to prosecute a serious crime, the lives of the defendant and the victim are changed forever.
  • Reasonable minds often differ on prosecutorial decisions, and disagreement can be a healthy “check and balance” within the system.

What is a DPP?

    • They sell their worth to voters by showing themselves to be “tough on crime” and on the people who commit crime.
    • They should only prosecute a case if it’s in the public interest and there’s a reasonable prospect of a conviction.
    • The outcome of any trial must be fair and just, and not simply a “notch in the belt” of a prosecutor.

Political dilemma

    • An increasingly cynical public had trouble accepting that an attorney-general could really make decisions about prosecutions without being influenced by the political consequences for themselves, their party or their government.
    • So there’s a balancing issue: how to make sure prosecutorial decisions are not so political that they are made in the short-term interests of governments, but political enough that they reflect community standards.
    • To put the dilemma in legal terms, how do we achieve independence, accountability and the public interest in prosecutorial decisions?

An odd compromise

    • The question is answered in Australia by way of a rather odd compromise.
    • The DPP makes prosecutorial decisions in a statutory office independent of politics, but the DPP is appointed by the governor, who is advised by the government.
    • DPPs are appointed for limited terms (unlike judges who are appointed until retirement), so if they displease the government, they may not be reappointed.

Why is there an inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann trial? Legal experts explain

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 18, 2023
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On Monday, opening statements were delivered in an inquiry into the prosecution of Lehrmann over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.

Key Points: 
  • On Monday, opening statements were delivered in an inquiry into the prosecution of Lehrmann over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins.
  • Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence, pleading not guilty to a charge of sexual intercourse without consent.
  • Read more:
    Lehrmann retrial abandoned because of 'a significant and unacceptable risk' to Brittany Higgins' life

‘Inappropriate interference’

    • It prosecutes criminal cases in the ACT, operating free from government influence.
    • That is, free from the parliament and the executive, which includes police ministers and police commissioners.
    • In other words, the DPP is to remain above politics, and stick entirely to principles of law, and agreed prosecutorial guidelines.

The task ahead

    • Sofronoff has quite the task ahead of him.
    • The decision as to whether to proceed with a prosecution remains with the DPP.
    • That is, the discretionary guidelines given to the DPP by legislation in relation to their choice to prosecute.
    • Rick Sarre is affiliated with the SA Labor Party, and is a Patron of the Justice Reform Initiative.

Pentwater Issues Public Letter on Corporate Governance to Rio Tinto Director Ben Wyatt

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 18, 2021
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Pentwater Capital Management LP ("Pentwater"), the largest minority shareholder of Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. ("Turquoise Hill") (TSX:TRQ) (NYSE:TRQ), wrote the following letter to Rio Tinto plc (Rio Tinto or Rio) (LSE:RIO) Director Mr. Ben Wyatt and the rest of the Rio Tinto Board.

Key Points: 
  • Pentwater Capital Management LP ("Pentwater"), the largest minority shareholder of Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. ("Turquoise Hill") (TSX:TRQ) (NYSE:TRQ), wrote the following letter to Rio Tinto plc (Rio Tinto or Rio) (LSE:RIO) Director Mr. Ben Wyatt and the rest of the Rio Tinto Board.
  • Unfortunately, neither Mr. Wyatt nor any other member of the Rio Tinto Board has responded to explain the continued corporate governance breaches Rio Tinto continues to inflict upon Turquoise Hill minority shareholders.
  • Remarkably, even in purported negotiations between Rio Tinto and TRQ regarding the mine, the TRQ representatives negotiating with Rio are often merely Rio Tinto employees temporarily seconded to TRQ.
  • Instead, Rio Tinto is requiring TRQ to pay the compensation that Rio should be paying to the government of Mongolia.