The jury in the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann has been discharged without a verdict after a juror accessed information that was not presented as evidence in court.
Mr Lehrmann was accused of raping his then-colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House after a night out drinking in March 2019.
He pleaded not guilty and said no sexual activity occurred between the pair.
The trial ran for 12 days and saw 29 witnesses take the stand, including Liberal senators Linda Reynolds and Michaelia Cash.
Juror had research paper relating to false rape allegations
ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said on Thursday at least one juror had obtained relevant material that was not included in the trial.
She summoned the 12 jurors to the courtroom on Thursday morning to question one of them about a research paper they had been carrying.
"During routine tidying of the jury room by three sheriff's officers after the conclusion of proceedings yesterday, one of the officers accidentally bumped one of the juror's document holders onto the floor," she said.
The security officer who picked up the box noticed the paper's title and reported it.
The court heard the academic paper related to the "unhelpfulness of trying to quantify" how often false rape accusations were made.
Chief Justice McCallum said she had no option other than to discharge the remaining jurors.
Chief Justice McCallum said she had warned the jurors "at least 17 times" during the trial not to try to find out more about the case other than what they heard in court.
"You must not try to undertake your own research," she said she told them.
"You must rely exclusively on the evidence you hear in this courtroom.
"If you are learning something about this trial, and I'm not there, then you should not be doing it."
Nonetheless, she thanked the jurors, saying mistrials were a possibility in all jury trials.
"This may come as a frustration to you after the hard work you all put in, and I want to convey my extreme gratitude," she said.
"I don't want you to leave court thinking this has been a waste of time."
The chief justice also said that, despite what some people might have believed, the jurors appeared to be making a genuine effort to reach a unanimous verdict.
The jury had initially told the judge on Monday that it was unable to reach a verdict, but it had continued to meet and was in its seventh day of closed-door deliberations.
ACT law requires a unanimous jury verdict for findings of guilty or not guilty.
'I chose to speak up'
Addressing the media outside court, Ms Higgins spoke about the toll the trial had taken on her.
"I chose to speak up … to speak up and share my experiences with others," she said.
"I told the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or unflattering to the court.
"When I did speak up, I never fully understood our asymmetrical criminal justice system but I do now.
"I was required to tell the truth under oath for over a week in the witness stand, I was cross-examined at length.
"I was required to surrender my telephones, my passwords, messages, photos, and my data to him.
"This is the reality of how complainants in sexual assault cases are treated."
Mr Lehrmann's lawyer Steve Whybrow also spoke briefly outside the court.
"Everyone is disappointed at what happened but it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to say anything at this stage," he said.
Later, in a statement, Mr Whybrow condemned some of the comments Ms Higgins made outside court, most of which the ABC has chosen not to publish, given the pending trial.
"We have brought these comments to the attention of the court and the Australian Federal Police and it is a matter for the court and the Australian Federal Police to consider and determine whether the complainant's comments might amount to a contempt of court offences against the ACT Criminal Code," he said.
Retrial scheduled for February next year
The judge granted Mr Lehrmann bail until a new trial, scheduled for February 20, 2023.
The judge also said Mr Lehrmann would be able to travel overseas under his bail arrangements, if he provided police with notice.
The courtroom has been packed with journalists throughout the trial.
Chief Justice McCallum closed the hearing with a warning to the media in the room, saying Mr Lehrmann was merely accused of a crime and might never be convicted.
"The fairness of his trial may be impaired if people continue to report on this case with this frequency," she said.
"I would expect that, after reporting the outcome of the trial today, that reporting of this matter should fall silent, so that the accused should have a fair trial, and so that Ms Higgins should have some respite from the intense glare of the media that has been pervasive throughout this trial."
