A former South Australian Labor MP and her husband have pleaded not guilty to blackmail after failing to have their case thrown out of court.
Former Elder MP Annabel Digance and her husband, Greg, are accused of blackmailing Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas for political advantage.
Their lawyers had sought to get the case thrown out, arguing the pair had no case to answer because the law excludes negotiations to secure a political benefit.
Robert Cameron, representing Ms Digance, told the court the "political advantage" was "being preselected by the ALP for the number one ticket in the Legislative Council or preselection as an ALP candidate for a comparatively safe Labor seat in the state parliament".
But Magistrate Simon Smart said from reading the transcript of recordings of their conversations, it appeared to be more "demands", not "negotiations".
"Negotiation connotes two parties seeking to compromise," Magistrate Smart said.
"I don't think there was anything that Mr Malinauskas wanted — it was a one-way discussion, if you like.
"It seemed to be couched as demands, to put it frankly."
To which Mr Cameron responded, "negotiations start with a demand".
Digances plead not guilty
Magistrate Smart then told the court he was satisfied there was a case to answer, before asking the pair to enter a plea.
They both replied "no case to answer", which Magistrate Smart considered an "unresponsive answer".
After a brief adjournment and an apology from Ms Digance's lawyer, the pair eventually pleaded not guilty.
They will appear in court again on March 11, just days before the state election.
