By Marissa Calligeros and Tony Moore
The legal fraternity has warned that Queensland courts could come to a grinding halt over the judiciary's stoush with Premier Campbell Newman.
The stoush will come to a head in the Supreme Court on Thursday when Justice George Fryberg hears an application from the Director of Public Prosecutions to revoke the bail granted to alleged Bandidos member Jarrod Kevin Anthony Brown.
Justice Fryberg adjourned the application on Wednesday over his concerns about the Premier's remarks about granting bail to bikies.
Mr Newman called upon the state's judiciary last week to "start realising what the community wants and act accordingly".
Premier Campbell Newman.Credit: Harrison Saragossi
Justice Fryberg implored the Premier to withdraw his comments, saying it would otherwise appear that the court was "bending to the will of the government".
He said he could not proceed while the Premier's comments remained on the record.
But Mr Newman has not backed down.
"My comments are reflecting what the people of Queensland are saying and thinking," Mr Newman told Parliament on Wednesday.
"My comments are backed by Queenslanders who want the judiciary to listen to them. That is what we are asking them to do. I have not commented on any specific case whatsoever."
The stoush escalated after Mr Newman accused the judiciary of living in an "ivory tower" during an interview with Fairfax Radio 4BC last Friday.
“They [the legal fraternity] are living literally in an ivory tower,” Mr Newman said.
“They go home at night to their comfortable, well-appointed homes, they talk among themselves, they socialise together, they don't understand what my team and I understand, and that is, Queenslanders have had enough.”
Australian Lawyers Alliance president Michelle James said the Premier must back down.
"I can't recall a time, in recent times, where the Premier has so blatantly flouted a clear separation of powers," Ms James told 612 ABC Brisbane.
"We call on the Premier to fully retract his statements with reference to this matter and apply the separation of powers as it ought to be applied."
Lawyer and prisoner advocate Debbie Kilroy has thrown her support behind Justice Fryberg's claims, saying the Premier must respect the separation of powers.
"We could have a massive crisis on our hands. The courts could come to a roaring halt, which would cause a massive crisis in this state," Ms Kilroy told 612 ABC Brisbane.
"The government needs to understand that they don't run the judicial system."
Under the anti-association legislation, passed on October 15, bail is no longer presumed for bikies who face magistrates courts.
Police allege Jarrod Brown, 25, was one of the Bandidos involved in a public bikie brawl on the Gold Coast last month that prompted the passing of the contentious laws. He was granted conditional bail in Holland Park Magistrates Court.