Queensland's chief magistrate is to personally hear bail applications made by alleged bikies. Source: AAP
QUEENSLAND'S chief magistrate will personally hear disputed bail applications made by alleged bikies in a move that has infuriated lawyers and civil rights groups.
Chief Magistrate Tim Carmody has directed that all contested applications for bail be reserved to him, and he will hear no more than two a day.
The Queensland government and judiciary have been warring over a number of bikie cases after parliament passed laws with a presumption against bail for criminal gang members.
However, bail has been granted to several bikies after police failed to convince magistrates they were gang members.
Mr Carmody's direction says the change will help the court proceedings take place more swiftly.
But critics fear it could bog the system down and leave defendants unjustly behind bars while waiting for a hearing.
They also say the plan is possibly unlawful and could be seen to undermine magistrates, who would usually have heard such cases.
Mr Carmody, a former policeman, was appointed chief magistrate in September. The post is determined by the state governor on the advice of cabinet.
Mr Carmody and Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie have declined to comment, but several groups have spoken out against the plan.
Queensland Bar Association president Roger Traves QC urged Mr Carmody to reconsider, saying cases of a particular type should not be heard by one person.
"The principles of fairness and equality before the law are best served by the court as a whole dealing with these applications, not a designated judicial officer," he said.
Queensland Council for Civil Liberties president Michael Cope says the unprecedented edict may be unlawful.
"It is clearly going to lead to people being held in custody for a long period of time, in breach of the obligation in the law that they be brought before a magistrate forthwith and their case for bail heard," he said.
Mr Carmody's directive, dated November 4, says it applies to any contested bail application not yet set down for hearing.
It says the main objective is to ensure all applications proceed without delay, but also says the move should cut costs for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and ensure "security for all".
Lawyer Bill Potts, who has represented several alleged bikies, told ABC radio: "People will be imprisoned and injustices will occur because of, effectively, bureaucratic delay."
Queensland University of Technology senior law lecturer Dr Nigel Stobbs said holding people in custody while waiting for a bail hearing would be unjust.
"To imprison them without just cause just goes against the grain of everything we hold to be just in our system," he told ABC radio.
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