Bruce Lehrmann trial aborted with jury discharged after outside material brought into jury room

Former Liberal party staffer Bruce Lehrmann outside the ACT supreme court in Canberra last week. He pleaded not guilty at trial to raping Brittany Higgins. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

The entire jury in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann has been discharged after a juror was found to have brought a research paper on sexual assaults into the jury room.

The ACT supreme court convened on Thursday morning and heard that Lehrmann’s trial must be aborted after a juror had conducted research outside the courtroom, something jurors are routinely told not to do.