No matter the level of sympathy or community support for Brittany Higgins, the basic rights of an accused person must be protected.
has raised hackles in all quarters. The criminal justice system has been impugned; the unfair treatment of complainants in sexual assault cases has been proselytised; the role of the media routinely condemned. In addition, the position of the prosecution faced with a vulnerable complainant has evoked considerable sympathy.
However, consider the plight of a person, usually a male, charged with major sexual assault. This person rightly has the presumption of innocence before and for the duration of a criminal trial. Such a person has a right to silence and cannot be compelled to give evidence at the trial. These are the bulwarks of our criminal justice system, no matter the seriousness of the crime alleged.
Whether you like him or not, Bruce Lehrmann was entitled to each of these major protections as he faced a charge which, if proved beyond reasonable doubt, would almost certainly have resulted in his being incarcerated for a number of years.No matter the level of sympathy or community support for Brittany Higgins, the basic rights of an accused person must remain entrenched in our criminal justice system.
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