John David Phillips
Phillips is not alone in his criticism of government. He received support in 2006 when retiring judge William Ormiston agreed with Phillips’ comments. Chief Justice Marilyn Warren responded to the criticism by saying that "bureaucrats did not tell her what to do". Warren noted that whilst there were disagreements between her and the government from time to time, the judges run the courts, not public servants. Warren said
"The court, as part of our structure of government, is independent. As part of Victoria's constitutional arrangements, the Supreme Court is the third arm of government."
Separation of powers
Besides the constitutional court the judicial branch at the federal level is made up of five supreme courts—one for civil and criminal cases ("Bundesgerichtshof"), and one each for administrative, tax, labour, and social security issues. There are also state ("Länder / Bundesländer") based courts beneath them, and a rarely used senate of the supreme courts.