The case against a "B-grade gangster" is so "hopeless" he should not even have to stand trial over allegations he threatened a police officer through a phone tap, his barrister says.
But a prosecutor has disagreed, asking a magistrate to send the case to the ACT Supreme Court and let a jury be the judge of its merits.
Former Nomads bikie boss Mohammed Nchouki has been charged, over a May 2021 phone call, with using a carriage service to threaten serious harm, using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend, and threatening to inflict grievous bodily harm.
The Calwell man, who has pleaded not guilty, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday for a contested committal hearing.
Such hearings are designed to test the strength of evidence and determine whether a trial is justified.
Prosecutor Patrick Dixon argued one was, telling magistrate Robert Cook police had been lawfully intercepting Mr Nchouki's phone calls for the entire first half of 2021.
Mr Dixon said the 41-year-old builder had known this, having told someone, in one instance, that: "What happens is [officer's name] sits there [and] listens to all my phone calls, literally one by one".
On the call that gave rise to the charges, Mr Nchouki was speaking to his brother, Jomal, when he referred to the same officer as "that f---en dog who is listening to us right now".
Mr Dixon said Mr Nchouki had threatened to "cave in" the head of the officer, who was investigating both siblings at the time, and track down the man's wife to "f--- her".
The prosecutor added that the 41-year-old had addressed the officer directly during the call, saying: "You know I'm talking to you."
But Mr Nchouki's barrister, Steven Whybrow, told the court the 41-year-old had believed the "rant" was merely a private conversation with his brother, who was not offended at all.
He added that the call was just his client "mouthing off" and talking "absolute rubbish" rather than saying anything that was meant to be taken seriously.
Mr Whybrow noted that both Nchoukis had given evidence to this effect as part of a successful bail application, during which magistrate Louise Taylor likened the former bikie boss to "a wannabe gangster in a B-grade film".
The court has repeatedly heard it is crucial to the prosecution case that Mr Nchouki knew police were listening to his calls, but Mr Whybrow argued on Monday that this could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
He added that Mr Nchouki had in fact apologised, following his arrest, for having described the officer in question as a pig, suggesting the man had never intended police to hear the call.
The barrister also argued the charges in question were supposed to target the abuse of someone on the other end of a phone line, not the "millions" of private calls a third party would consider offensive if they somehow heard themselves being discussed.
He ultimately described the case against his client as "hopeless", though he accepted Mr Cook would have to commit it trial unless the magistrate found there was "no reasonable prospect" of a jury convicting Mr Nchouki.
Mr Dixon countered that there were reasonable prospects, saying Mr Cook's role at this stage was merely to "sort the wheat from the chaff" rather than decide the case.
Mr Cook indicated he would decide whether or not to commit Mr Nchouki for trial on April 12.
