Queensland Chief Justice Tim Carmody has been accused of breaching the separation of powers with unprecedented and undesirable demands attached to his departure.
But whether he will take colleagues with him if he does step down remains to be seen as the state's judicial break-up becomes increasingly messy.
Justice Carmody's June 2014 appointment triggered a concerted campaign against him including being secretly recorded by one colleague and shunned by the state's second-most senior judge, Margaret McMurdo.
He has offered to resign to quell the bitter squabbling, but wants to depart on "just terms" and for the government to set up a judicial commission and reform judicial appointment procedures.
The embattled chief justice spent Tuesday holed up inside his inner-Brisbane home.
A man visited in the afternoon, leaving after more than an hour with a red folder labelled "Timothy Francis Carmody, Employment Matters".
Justice Carmody's request for reform has ruffled feathers among some of Queensland's most prominent legal minds, including barrister Tony Morris QC.
"Anyone who's got any sense of the separation of powers knows that that's a matter for government," Mr Morris told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
"It's not for judges to say `these are the conditions on which I'm going to retire'."
The government shares that view, with Deputy Premier Jackie Trad warning it would be an illegal inducement for Labor to agree to any of the demands.
"It is not up to judges to make policy from the bench," she said.
"It is up to them to preside over cases and dispense the justice that Queensland can expect from them."
Retired QC Russell Hanson believes the saga has brought the Supreme Court into disrepute and is unsure what it will take to restore its reputation.
"A few resignations might help," he said in a statement.
The call for those resignations is likely to be made on Friday when Justice Carmody addresses the North Queensland Law Association conference on Hamilton Island.
There, he will take aim at his critics and request they consider their own positions, according to News Corp Australia.
Ms Trad refused to comment on the calls for other judges to follow Justice Carmody out the door.
Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath's door, meanwhile, remains open to Justice Carmody for a discussion about the terms of his departure.
No request has been received, a spokesman for Ms D'Ath said on Tuesday afternoon.
Justice Carmody, who has ruled out further statements on the matter, claims the judiciary's "festering" structural problems existed before his appointment.
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