Bruce Lehrmann seeks to halt rape trial over police conduct and ‘illegally obtained’ phone call recordings

Bruce Lehrmann has sought to halt a rape case against him, claiming that police “illegally obtained” his lawyer’s phone calls.

Lehrmann, 30, is accused of raping a woman twice during the morning of October 10, 2021 after they met at a strip club the previous night in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.

Defence lawyer Zali Burrows filed an application in Toowoomba District Court on Monday seeking a permanent stay in Lehrmann’s pending trial.

In court documents seen by AAP, Ms Burrows sought a “declaration that intercepted calls between Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers and Queensland Police (were) illegally obtained”.

Ms Burrows’ application was in response to an affidavit by Peter Blake-Segovia, a practice manager at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions’ Toowoomba chambers.

The affidavit stated police had possession of four audio recordings of calls between a detective and Lehrmann’s previous lawyers.

Mr Blake-Segovia stated he had emailed the arresting officer in Lehrmann’s case, Detective Senior Constable Ashlee Ryder, concerning material in the case.

“Can you please confirm whether a copy of anything that is relevant to the proceeding … has been disclosed?” Mr Blake-Segovia emailed on June 17.

In the court affidavit, Mr Blake-Segovia stated Det Ryder had “outlined items that were in her possession that were not provided as part of the brief to the Director of Public Prosecutions”.

The items included “four audio recordings between the arresting officer and (Lehrmann’s) previous legal representatives”.

“I will review the contents of the material to ascertain whether they ought to be disclosed,” Mr Blake-Segovia stated to the court.

In Queensland it is generally lawful for a person to record a phone conversation without the consent of the other people on the call.

However, Lehrmann - a former ministerial staffer to Liberal senator Linda Reynolds - has ongoing legal matters in NSW and Tasmania, where it is generally illegal to record a phone conversation without consent.

The alleged victim previously told Toowoomba Magistrates Court she consumed cocaine with Lehrmann during a night out before consensual sex at about 4am.

The woman said she was woken about 10am by Lehrmann sexually assaulting her.

Lehrmann’s former defence barrister Andrew Hoare said at a prior hearing the alleged victim was too intoxicated to remember giving consent and Lehrmann could have mistakenly believed he had consent.

Ms Burrows on Monday also applied for a declaration that Queensland Police did not have the discretion to determine what is relevant to the defence case and must disclose all materials.

Mr Blake-Segovia stated to the court that police held items, in addition to the phone call recordings, that had not been disclosed.

Those items included two audio recordings and two emails between the alleged victim and Det Ryder, an audio recording of a witness and information about Lehrmann’s account on the SnapChat messaging app.

The Ipswich District Court is due to hear Ms Burrows’ application on Wednesday.

If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, phone 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Crisis Care Helpline on 1800 199 008.