A trial date in March has been set for professional musician James Louis Mason, who is charged with assaulting his sons aged two and four years.
Mason, 50, has elected jury trial in the Christchurch District Court on the charges which date from December, the Christchurch Court News website reported today.
He publicly complained about a warning he received from the police for flicking one of his boys on the ear and charges were laid after that.
At the depositions hearing in August, defence counsel Elizabeth Bulger was granted suppression covering the evidence which had been handed to the court in written form.
The case has attracted media attention because it may be a test of the anti-smacking laws.
The trial is set for the week of March 2, 2009.
