Reynolds, Lehrmann and the business of reputation reparations

Manager Michelle Pini discusses Linda Reynolds’s legal skirts and reputation after an insulting win against former employee Brittany Higgins.

*Content Warning: Rape in this article

Liberal former Senator Linda Reynolds won an insulting case against the former employee Brittany Higgins, who was raped by another former former worker in the senator’s parliament office in 2019.

Lehrmann was accused of sexual assault in 2022, but the proceedings were canceled due to the abuse of the jury. Mrs. Higgins did not continue a second criminal case due to mental health concerns. In a later insult case brought by Lehrmann, it was found that he raped Higgins in the balance of possibilities.

Many may remember Mrs. Reynolds, who referred to her employees during allegations against Lehrmann. “A liar cow”, The former senator then apologized to the public.

Justice Paul Tottle found it on Wednesday, August 27, almost 12 months after the start of the five -week insult hearing. When the court proceedings ended in September 2024, it was believed that the decision would be made after Christmas – but nobody told which Christmas.

Justice Tottle had to judge the allegations of four slander, a conspiracy claim and the claim of a contract by Reynolds. Tottle found that Reynolds had been square by three of the four tweets sent by Mrs. Higgins in 2022 and 2023 and rejected the conspiracy claim and approved the “violation of the contract”.

Ms. Higgins ordered Ms. Reynolds to pay compensation of $ 315,000, as well as 26,000 dollars and compensation for compensation with uncertain legal costs-this will not be insignificant.

Many old media organizations are from this last section in the never -ending epic “two victims“.

A Speech article Professor of Emeritus Law and Criminal Justice, Rick SarreHe details the legal context that Tottele has made. It also discusses the fact that WA insults are different from that of other states. Wa, “Serious damage threshold“He suffered significant damage to the alleged slander statements that require the plaintiffs to prove their reputation.

The informative piece ends with the following observation:

‘Therefore, many observers can be grateful to hear the claims of the plaintiffs and to decide on political and personal prejudices, while we can shake their heads for millions of dollars spent by the key players in this special epic for legal wages.

First, we recommend that many observers do not shake millions of heads spent only on legal wages. We are shaking our heads in a legal system, which is seen to give priority to the reputation damage over physical, mental and emotional damage that leading people are exposed to criminal victims.

We shake our heads about what a woman says about a society that can be raped by a colleague at work, but also about a society with a parliamentary building, which is the home of the people.

Later, we shake our heads that a crime had to prove that he had committed, and his personal life was announced to the public for years.

We shake our heads that a perpetrator’s alleged criminal case was canceled because of the jury’s task of abuse and re -trial because the victim will be dangerous for mental health, but we are shaking because many slander cases against this victim are dragged and probably allowed banking in the process.

Our heads continue to swing in any public discourse that aims to compare the equal damage to the rape by a colleague at work, and then finds the old one more awful.

Independent AUstrala He does not try to question the court decision, because it is clearly made in accordance with the letter of the law.

However, we question a system that can allow the sacrifice of a disgusting crime to be further punished, and it shows that it should be apparently before it ends and that it should really cause an extraordinary head swing.

Ms. Reynolds, former employee – rape victim – because she filed a lawsuit because Mrs. Higgins was disturbed by her tweets, said that she had damaged Reynolds reputation and approved the slander allegations of the WA court. According to many media media, it was “right” and was awarded with an important financial gain for its efforts.

Another issue in which his reputation will be restored and is a subject we cannot speculate.

In April 2024, Justice Michael Lee found in a separate insult case between many legal hearings following this crime. – He was provoked by Bruce Lehrmann – In the balance of possibilities, Lehrmann raped Higgins. Lehrmann later objected to Flignand’s decision.

What does Brittany Higgins say to the victims of rape after the rape?

What does he say about our legal system?

No legal system is perfect. However, a terrible criminal victim of mental health that prevents the perpetrator from being brought to justice can be addressed when it is time to look at the broken and financial payment when it is exposed to endless harassment, media examination and long -term legal wars, and then financially can be made.

Then there is a reputation problem.

Apparently, Mrs. Reynolds, who can meet exercise, was given a large amount for damage caused by her reputation by Mrs. Higgins.

Reynolds launched several slander cases that have already been concluded and also suing Higgins’ compensation on the British community, the payment of the payment of the “publicly confirmed” effect claimed. Reynolds also includes negligence against the law firm acting for Commonwealth in the case – legal proceedings.

Mr. Lehrmann, who raped Brittany Higgins and is tried for an irrelevant rape, is a free man who can earn money after all his legal proceedings.

Many elite lawyers who have been in the case of numerous court cases surrounding this crime have been generously paid for their work – some of them will be paid by the victim of the rape.

And the sacrifice?

In 2021, Reynolds reached a legal agreement with Higgins for calling him a “liar cow”, apologizing to the public, and paid $ 10,000 for a rape crisis center.

Apparently, some of them are more valuable than others.

Brittany Higgins, who was raped at work, received compensation of $ 2.4 million by Commonwealth in 2022.

Mrs Higgins was subjected to endless attacks on the reputation of his boss as a false cow, and had every personal detail to be examined by anyone who had access to the internet about himself and his family.

He is currently paying money to damage his former boss’s reputation, probably the full financial destruction.

We shake our heads, everyone has legal institutions for those who can meet exercise, because most of the Australia cannot meet such legal exercises – these ‘Political and Personal Prejudice’ or not. Indeed, many Australians would not even afford to make a law firm to write a letter on their behalf, because they usually start at about $ 1,000.

Finally, we shake our heads because the slander law, which only exists to protect the reputation of what you can meet, explicitly overshads the welfare of the victims of crime.

If this article has raised any problems, you can contact Lifeline on an online or online. 1800respect.org.au.

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