7 Aug 2023

Drumgold: The rise and fall of the boy from Mt Druitt

Shane Drumgold  originated from Mt Druitt, a poor and often violent suburb of Sydney.  Unlike most Senior Counsel, he never we went to private school but slowly made his way upwards via a a range of less prestigious paths.  And I think his downfall can be attributed to that background

One thing that a private school background instils in its pupils is self confidence and that is an important trait if you are going to go against the flow.  And that is what Drumgold failed to do.  There was tremendous media pressure to believe Brittany Higgins  and discredit Bruce Lehrmann.  You had to go along with that to be on the side of the angels. Drumgold didn't have the mental fortitude to resist that.  He  was so desperate  to be among the good guys that he lied in an effort to support the mob belief.  He had none of the confidence that would have enabled him to go against the flow

His gaunt visage never did look right under a barrister's wig and he was in the end unfit for that distinction

ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold has resigned in the wake of the damning findings of the Sofronoff Inquiry and is expected to retire.

On Sunday ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury confirmed that he had spoken to Mr Drumgold last Thursday and “in light of the commentary in the report” the pair had “agreed that his position as Director of Public Prosecutions was no longer tenable”.

“On Friday, Mr Drumgold sent a letter advising me that he would be vacating his position as ACT Director of Public Prosecutions,” Mr Rattenbury said.

The Sofronoff Inquiry found Mr Drumgold knowingly lied to the Supreme Court, engaged in serious malpractice and grossly unethical conduct, “preyed on a junior lawyer’s inexperience”, betrayed that junior lawyer who trusted him, and treated criminal litigation as “a poker game in which a prosecutor can hide the cards”.

In the report, Mr Sofronoff found that Mr Drumgold had lost objectivity during the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins and “did not act with fairness and detachment as was required by his role”.

Those findings were considered by legal experts as certain to end Mr Drumgold’s career as DPP and may lead to criminal prosecution against him for perverting the course of justice.

Inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC ruled that every one of the allegations made by Mr Drumgold that sparked the inquiry was baseless.

The ACT government had earlier said it would not release the report until the end of August but back-flipped last week following publication of the findings in The Australian.

Mr Rattenbury said on Sunday the government would make a detailed statement in response to the Sofronoff Report early in the coming week.

The government is under growing pressure to conduct an inquiry into previous criminal cases prosecuted by Mr Drumgold.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/dpp-shane-drumgold-to-resign-in-wake-of-misconduct-findings/news-story/01171c1c5ba23c95b80ec2efb0d2fa59

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GREENIE WATCH,
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IMMIGRATION WATCH.

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