Bruce Lehrmann has sacked the legal team set to represent him in his upcoming Queensland rape trial.
The former political staffer filed a letter to Toowoomba District Court on Monday which said his solicitor Rowan King would be replaced by Zali Burrows.
Ms Burrows is currently representing Lehrmann as he appeals his failed Federal Court defamation action against Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson.
Lehrmann 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, 150km west of Brisbane.
The woman alleged she consumed cocaine with Lehrmann during a night out before consensual sex at a house in east Toowoomba about 4am.
The woman said she was woken about 10am by Lehrmann sexually assaulting her.
Lehrmann has not entered pleas but his lawyers have indicated he would defend the charges.
The 29-year-old will soon face a pre-trial hearing at which he is expected to apply for a judge to hear the case without a jury.
Lehrmann was not required to appear in person when the rape case was last mentioned in Toowoomba District Court in late January.
Bruce Lehrmann has sacked the legal team representing him in his Queensland rape trial
Lehrmann filed a letter to Toowoomba District Court on Monday which said his solicitor Rowan King would be replaced by Zali Burrows (above)
On that occasion, Mr King told Judge Dennis Lynch that barrister Patrick Wilson would make three pre-trial applications for Lehrmann.
‘There’s an application for a judge-alone trial, there’s also an application in respect to potential protection of records and a joint application in regards to uncharged sexual contact,’ Mr King said.
Under Queensland law, a trial can be heard without a jury and the judge handing down verdicts if ‘it is in the interests of justice to do so’.
The grounds for a judge-only trial include the hearings are lengthy or complex, or both, or ‘there has been significant pre-trial publicity that may affect jury deliberations’.
Crown prosecutor Caroline Marco said she would also make three pre-trial applications.
She would seek to join with the defence for an application which can include evidence of ‘uncharged acts’ to prove a sexual interest between the defendant and alleged victim.
