Former Premier Campbell Newman’s comment that ex Chief Justice Carmody would have handed down a heavier sentence for the killing of Mason Jett Lee than current Chief Justice Holmes starkly demonstrates a worrying trend among law and order politicians that some Judges are ‘our Judges’ and the rest are out of touch.

Civil Liberties Council Vice President said that Mr Newman’s comments showed his total ignorance of the law and yet again demonstrates his fundamental unsoundness of the appointment of now Supreme Court Justice Carmody as Queensland’s Chief Justice.

“And some in the media are just as bad in barracking for a particular outcome in a publicly notorious case and if that is achieved the Judge is ‘wise and learned’ and if it isn’t, the Judge is useless and out of touch with community standards”, Mr O’Gorman said.

Mr O’Gorman said that a reading of the Chief Justice’s sentencing comments unsurprisingly shows that she sentenced O’Sullivan on the basis of a number of Queensland Supreme Court and Court of Appeal precedents which were binding upon her in respect of sentencing laws passed by Parliament.

“It is the job of Parliament to reflect community standards, whatever that vague phrase may mean”, Mr O’Gorman said.

“It is for Judges to apply the law as passed by Parliament not on a whim or by a Judge going out on a frolic of his or her own but according to precedents which by law bind a Sentencing Judge”, Mr O’Gorman said.

Mr O’Gorman said that the law and order politicking is increasingly politicising the Queensland judiciary in the eyes of the public.

“Queenslanders need to think twice about letting law and order politicians and their media allies take them increasingly down the US judicial road where politicians positively ‘own’ their judicial appointments and tell them even before they are appointed how they should decide future cases”, Mr O’Gorman said.

“Witness the current absurd sideshow currently playing out in the US Senate in respect of President Trump’s latest proposed pick for the US Supreme Court”, Mr O’Gorman said.

Mr O’Gorman said that not so long ago both the LNP and Labor stuck to the bipartisan convention of not attacking Judges because Judges are not allowed to defend themselves.

“But in recent years, particularly under Mr Newman’s Premiership, and since, the LNP has broken away from this convention and in an incessant bid to gain law and order votes regularly attack Judges”.

“If personal attacks on Judges sometimes bordering on personal abuse does not stop, less and less highly qualified lawyers will put their hands up for judicial appointment and the calibre of Judges will fall, much to Queensland’s detriment”, Mr O’Gorman said.

Mr O’Gorman said that Mr Newman seems to be suggesting that if ‘his Judge’ (Justice Carmody) had heard the O’Sullivan case he would have thrown judicial precedents which clearly bound Chief Justice Holmes to the wind and sentenced O’Sullivan to a sentence demanded by law and order politicians and some journalists.

“Frankly, that is an insult to Justice Carmody’s judicial integrity which requires him as well as Chief Justice Holmes to apply the law in accordance with case precedent and not heed those who yell the loudest”, Mr O’Gorman said.

Mr O’Gorman said “Chief Justice Holmes’ judgement is careful and reasoned. If the Court of Appeal disagrees with her sentence, so be it. That is what the Court of Appeal is there for”.

Mr O’Gorman can be contacted during business hours on 07 3034 0000