Top Qld silk appeals speeding fine

No one enjoys getting a speeding ticket in the mail.

Especially when you're not the driver responsible.

But few have the legal clout to take on the system in the state's highest court, which is what prominent barrister Tony Morris did in Queensland's Court of Appeal on Wednesday.

In an unusual legal challenge that could help countless Queenslanders get out of speeding fines, Mr Morris argued he shouldn't be found liable for an infringement committed when he wasn't behind the wheel.

He hasn't stated who was driving the Volvo - registered to him - when it was snapped travelling at 7km over the 50km/hour speed limit in Brisbane last year.

The penalty is $146.

"I propose to pay the fine anyway, that's not what this is about," Mr Morris said outside court.

"This is about whether you can have a law that says `everyone in Queensland who is registered owner of a vehicle is liable if their vehicle is used to commit an offence'."

Mr Morris became Australia's youngest Queen's Counsel in 1992 when he was appointed at the age of 32.

In 2005, he headed a commission of inquiry into former surgeon Jayant Patel and Queensland's health system, but was later disqualified following allegations of bias.

On Wednesday, he spent more than 90 minutes arguing his case in the Court of Appeal, which ultimately reserved its decision.

Opposing Mr Morris on behalf of Queensland Police and the attorney-general was another senior barrister - Queensland Solicitor-General Peter Dunning QC.

Mr Dunning said there was nothing remarkable about the law and described how people in Mr Morris's situation can fill out a statutory declaration in their defence.

However, Mr Morris said the legislation should be fairer.

"When you have legislation that makes every Queenslander who's the registered owner of the vehicle liable if that vehicle is used to commit an offence, I think that's going too far," he said.

"Now, in terms of social goals, I think that's a sledgehammer to crack a walnut."