Section 8: Search & Seizure

Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

8. Everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure.

R. v. Cole, 2012 SCC 53

The accused was a high school teacher who was allowed to use a school-owned laptop computer for personal use. A technician tasked with maintaining the computer on behalf of the school discovered nude photographs of an underage female student on the hard drive. He turned the computer over to the school principal who subsequently turned it over to police. The issue was whether the accused had a reasonable expectation of privacy in regard to the contents of the laptop, whether his right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure had been infringed, and whether the evidence should be excluded under Section 24(2) of the Charter. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 24: Enforcement of Rights, Section 8: Search & Seizure

R. v. Nagle, 2012 BCCA 373

The BC Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal of Jennifer Nicole Nagle on a charge of possession of methamphetamine for the purpose of trafficking, ruling that travelers leaving Canada can be searched in much the same way as travelers entering Canada. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 10: Rights on Arrest, Section 10(b): Right to Counsel, Section 8: Search & Seizure

R. v. Bacon, 2012 BCCA 323

This decision involved analysis of the principles articulated in R. v. Grant, and their application to a suspected gang leader whose vehicle proved to contain a number of prohibited and restricted firearms. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 24: Enforcement of Rights, Section 8: Search & Seizure

R. v. He, 2012 BCCA 318

In R. v. He, The British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision, dismissing charges against the owners of the Sushi Man Japanese Restaurant in North Vancouver, sending a strong message to the Canada Revenue Agency that it cannot use its audit functions to gather evidence for a criminal investigation. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 8: Search & Seizure

R. v. Tse, 2012 SCC 16

In R. v. Tse, 2012 SCC 16 (CanLII), Section 184.4 of the Criminal Code, which allowed police to wiretap individuals without their knowledge or consent, was declared to be an unreasonable infringement on the right to be free from unreasonable search an seizure. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 8: Search & Seizure

R. v. Loewen, 2011 SCC 21

A police officer had smelled marijuana on the Appellant, Derek Loewen, after stopping him for speeding, and came to the conclusion that he had committed the indictable offence of possession for the purpose of trafficking. The officer proceeded to search Mr. Loewen and found 100 grams of crack cocaine. This appeal dealt with the legality of the detention and search. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 8: Search & Seizure, Section 9: Arbitrary Detention

Vancouver (City) v. Ward, 2010 SCC 27

Vancouver lawyer, Alan Cameron Ward, sued the police for violating his right to be free from unlawful search and seizure, pursuant to Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. At issue in the Supreme Court of Canada were the circumstances in which a court can order monetary damages as compensation for a Charter breach. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 24: Enforcement of Rights, Section 8: Search & Seizure

R. v. Harrison, [2009] 2 SCR 494

Bradley Harrison and a friend were driving from Vancouver to Toronto in a rented SUV when an Ontario police officer stopped them for having no front license plate. Because the vehicle was registered in Alberta, there was no legal requirement that it have a front license plate. Despite this, the police officer continued the detention, questioning the accused and eventually searching the vehicle. This search yielded two cardboard boxes containing 35-kilograms of cocaine. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 24: Enforcement of Rights, Section 8: Search & Seizure, Section 9: Arbitrary Detention

R. v. Grant, 2009 SCC 32

In Grant, the Supreme Court of Canada revisited and revised the test laid out in R. v. Collins, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 265, increasing the standard for the exclusion of evidence set out in Section 24(2) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 8: Search & Seizure, Section 9: Arbitrary Detention

R. v. Patrick, 2009 SCC 17

Suspecting that Russell Stephen Patrick was operating an ecstasy lab in his Calgary home, police investigators looked through the contents of Mr. Patrick’s garbage on a number of occasions. Although the police did not set foot on Patrick’s property, they reached over his property line from a public alley behind his home. No warrant was obtained for this procedure, which was challenged as an “unreasonable search” within the meaning of Section 8 of the Charter. Continue reading

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Filed under Section 8: Search & Seizure