8chan/8kun QResearch AUSTRALIA Posts (1)
#20411137 at 2024-02-14 08:53:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition
>>20411134
2/2
Earlier, Ten's lawyer, Robert Dick SC, rejected an assertion that the advice was "inappropriate" but conceded that "ultimately, given the events that happened, it gave rise to a real risk of contempt, and it was unfortunate".
Wilkinson, in cross-examination, said Ten claimed a concern that there was a risk of contempt well beyond the close of the trial.
The TV veteran said she was very unhappy that Ten had hired Dr Collins to represent both the network and herself, as he'd gone on breakfast television after the Logies speech criticising her praise of Ms Higgins as "ill-?advised".
"This was directly after he criticised me on three national television programs," Wilkinson told the court.
Mr Dick suggested Dr Collins had been brought on board because of his expertise in contempt of court law, and this was appropriate given the ongoing risk of contempt proceedings against both Wilkinson and the network.
Wilkinson said another lawyer, Thomson Geer's Marlia Saunders, had spoken to ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold who had told her that he was not going to press for contempt proceedings.
Mr Dick: "Notwithstanding your memory that Mr Drumgold had said he wasn't proposing any contempt charges, that Network Ten and yourself remain concerned that there was a risk of contempt. Do you agree with that?"
Wilkinson: "Oh, they said that for months and months and months, well beyond the close of the trial, right up to and including the ... board of inquiry that they refuse to put a submission into, to clear my name and to cross-?examine Mr Drumgold."
Ten's legal advice to Wilkinson was never revealed during the defamation trial because the network refused to waive legal privilege, despite the clear preference of judge Michael Lee to see it.
On Tuesday, Justice Lee asked Mr Dick why Ten had not waived legal privilege despite there no longer being risk of contempt of the court, after Mr Lehrmann's rape trial was abandoned in December 2022.
Mr Dick said: "Because Network Ten takes the view that unless there's a very good reason, privilege ought to be maintained."
Ms Smithies acknowledged that she had instructed Ten's lawyers to maintain legal privilege over the advice and instructed Wilkinson to do the same.
Mr Elliot asked Ms Smithies: "You were not helping her by doing those things to defend the allegation of aggravated damages that had been made against her, were you?"
Ms Smithies: I thought we were helping her.
Mr Elliot: You thought you were helping her by not letting it be known what the actual advice was?
Ms Smithies: That's not what I'm saying. I thought we were helping her by her being able to say that the advice had been approved by lawyers and by the network, that maintaining privilege over the content of the advice ...
At that point, Justice Lee intervened and reminded Ms Smithies of the problem he had raised earlier in the trial, namely that without being able to see the advice, he had to make inferences about it, including it was "inconceivable to me that any legally qualified person could have given advice .. that a crown witness saying what they said in that Logies speech was anything other than inappropriate".
"In light of that, didn't you think the mere fact of disclosing the fact of advice rather than the content of the advice wasn't necessarily helping Ms Wilkinson because I didn't know what the advice was."
Ms Smithies: "I would accept that, Your Honour."
Justice Lee indicated he would rule on the Lehrmann defamation proceedings in March.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/i-begged-ten-to-own-up-on-logies-speech-says-lisa-wilkinson/news-story/7b0b7ee1c34e236a03b9c8e6207351f2