Four people charged with assaulting Victorian MP Geoff Shaw have declined a police offer of diversion that would have avoided a conviction and want their day in court.
The four - John Zammit, 75, Konstantinos Mandikos, 74, Gianni Campobassi, 52, and Natalia Potapova, 46 - are accused of assaulting the independent MP after he walked through a protest about changes to the taxi industry on the steps of state parliament last October.
The highly-publicised altercation was caught on CCTV footage and was filmed by witnesses.
Prosecutor Senior Constable Kasey Hadden said the four had each been offered a diversion notice, which would end the matter.
A diversion program allows first-time offenders to acknowledge responsibility and be released without conviction or a finding of guilt.
Defence lawyer Morgan McLay told the Melbourne Magistrates Court he has applied for a full brief of evidence from police.
He asked for the brief to include extra details, including emails between Mr Shaw and police, all footage of the incident, documents relating to the case, including those contained in the LEAP police database, and copies of all correspondence to police from other parties, including from witnesses and other MPs.
He said police had asked him to subpoena some elements of their evidence, which he said was a lengthy and unnecessary process.
Mr McLay said one of the accused had also "raised an element of self-defence" in his case, and the co-accused had the right to see all evidence against them.
Magistrate John Doherty granted access to emails between police and Mr Shaw, all footage and the requested correspondence, but excluded correspondence from others.
He urged the parties to enter discussions and seek an early resolution to the case.
All four face charges of unlawful assault and assault in company with others.
The hearing was adjourned until July 8.
Share
