James Albert Ernest Togo, 20, pleaded not guilty in the Coolangatta Magistrates Court to indecent behaviour when he "mooned" a police car soon after midnight on August 12 this year.
The offence, which carries a maximum fine of $100, became a sticky constitutional issue when Aboriginal legal service lawyer Eugene O'Sullivan argued "mooning" a police car was a legitimate and legal means of expression. He said it was a "mild" political act and a protest against government authority protected under the implied freedoms of the constitution.