Qld silk espouses speeding fine defence

While everyone grumbles about speeding tickets, one top Queensland barrister has threatened to take his complaints all the way to court, fighting a $146 fine with a constitutional challenge and spousal privilege.

Stefanie Garber • 09 April 2015 • SME Law

Tony Morris QC was issued the fine after a speed camera caught his station wagon going 57km/h in a 50km/h zone, according to The Courier-Mail.

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Mr Morris challenged the fine in a letter to the state's Department of Transport, claiming he has evidence he was not driving the car but refusing to name the driver.

He offered to call a veritable who’s who of the Brisbane legal scene to testify they were with him at the time of the offence, including Supreme Court judge David Jackson, Federal Court judge John Logan, Bar Association president Robyn Martin, Bar Association vice-president Geoff Diehm QC and barrister Anand Shah.

Under Queensland laws on speeding, car owners wishing to avoid fines must either name the driver at fault or verify they do not know who the driver is – neither of which apply to Mr Morris.

He claimed the requirement to dob in the culprit would violate his spousal privilege, quoting an English case from 1817, but equally that the Queensland Government would be acting “unconstitutionally” if it fined him despite evidence he was not driving the car.

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However, the Department of Transport has not withdrawn the fine.

Mr Morris subsequently wrote to the attorneys-general of the Commonwealth and all eight states and territories, saying he planned to challenge the validity of part of the speed camera laws in court.

His constitutional challenge is due in the Queensland Court of Appeal “within weeks” – perhaps, Folklaw suggests, showing you don’t rise to the top of the legal profession by backing down in a fight.

Folklaw approached Mr Morris but he did not wish to comment.

Shovel Friday, 17 April 2015

Its a very bad example to set & a there will be some blowback on the professions standing with the general public.Camera detected offences are a fact of life .If the rest of the motoring public have to cop it so do lawyers including silk.''Get your hand off it'' & pay the fine.

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Absurdiness Brown Thursday, 16 April 2015

Over the years we've probably all had requests for advice on this very topic and this very strategy.I tell people to stop being so ridiculous.Morris QC has some hits and misses, and this is a miss.While Morris isn't suggesting he will commit fraud, I would have thought that the lessons from Einfeld's fall would still be burned into every practitioner's mind.

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Wendy Thursday, 09 April 2015

I wonder whether he's aware of the High Court case Australian Crime Commission v Stoddart 2011) 282 ALR 620? The court found privilege against spousal incrimination does not exist at common law

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Michael Thursday, 09 April 2015

Mr Morris clearly has too much time on his hands!

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oh dear me Thursday, 09 April 2015

clearly he thinks he's above the law and his pure arrogance and ego is staggering. Has this guy got nothing else to do during his day? I bet its a running joke that he's got with his mates to see how far he can test the system....

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Grumpy Thursday, 09 April 2015

What about setting an example and actually having someone accept responsibility for breaking the law!! What great respect to the law is shown here. Why is it that one set of laws applies to the public and another set applies to QC's? What message is that sending? And what about safety to other members of the public in exceeding the speed limit. And the sending of letters to the Attorney's General - what an incredible waste of their time. Let them deal with murderers and child molesters, not some miffed member of the higher echelons with a personal beef. Cripes.

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