CRI225H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 2: Duty Counsel
19 Jan 2020
School
Course
Professor
The Charter and the Investigation of Crime
- Manner of police crime investigation was not of concern before the enactment of the
Charter
- E.g. evidence could not be excluded on the basis it was illegally obtained
- Charter ensured that individuals have rights (such as that to be informed of the
reason for arrest)
Search and Seizure
- Section 8 provides everyone has a right to be secure against unreasonable search and
seizure
- Reasonable expectations of privacy
- Right to privacy includes right of anonymity in respect to internet usage
- Searches of garbage put out for collection does not invade reasonable expetations of
privacy
- However, we now have a diminished expectation of privacy
- E.g. searches on schoolchildren and prisoners, drivers in cars
Warrant Requirements
- No need to attain a warrant if there is imminent danger that evidence of a crime will be
destroyed or if someone will be harmed
- Searches must be authorized by the law, and the law must be reasonable
- Wearing a wire without a warrant violated section 8 previously, but new provisions
allowed judges to authorize this activity in urgent circumstances
Consent Searches and Searches INcident to Arrest
- No need to attain a warrant if suspected consents to a search or if police are conductinga
reasonable search incident to arrest
- Must not be conducted in an abusive fashion, no power to seize bodily samples for
DNA testing
Remedies for Breach
- Evidence obtained in violation of section 8 is not automatically excluded
- Judge will apply a 3-part test analyzing teh seriousness of the Charter violation
Arbitrary Detention and Imprisonment
- Section 9: everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned
- Arbitrary if officer was biased towards a person of a different nationality or color, or
had a personal enmity towards a particular detainee
- Detention includes demand or direction with legal consequences (breath sample,
physical restraint, psychological compulsion)
- Leaves people thinking they have no choice but to comply with police
Document Summary
Manner of police crime investigation was not of concern before the enactment of the. E. g. evidence could not be excluded on the basis it was illegally obtained. Charter ensured that individuals have rights (such as that to be informed of the reason for arrest) Section 8 provides everyone has a right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. Right to privacy includes right of anonymity in respect to internet usage. Searches of garbage put out for collection does not invade reasonable expetations of privacy. However, we now have a diminished expectation of privacy. E. g. searches on schoolchildren and prisoners, drivers in cars. No need to attain a warrant if there is imminent danger that evidence of a crime will be destroyed or if someone will be harmed. Searches must be authorized by the law, and the law must be reasonable.
