Month: February 2025

Patrick Ducharme

In R. v. Loewen the Supreme Court of Canada dealt with the following circumstances as given by the investigating officer:

After stopping the accused for speeding, the police officer smelled freshly burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle and found $5,410 in the accused’s pocket. He arrested the accused for possession of a controlled substance, searched the vehicle, and found 100 grams of crack cocaine. The trial Judge admitted the evidence of cocaine.  The accused was convicted of possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking. A majority of the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction.
Continue reading “Grounds of Arrest – R. v. Loewen”

Patrick J Ducharme

The arresting person must have both “objective” and “subjective” grounds to arrest an accused for the commission of an indictable offence. Consequently, a court reviewing the grounds of arrest must conclude that the person making the arrest believes objectively that the grounds exist and that a reasonable person, in the position of the arresting person, would objectively believe that reasonable and probable grounds exist to justify the arrest. The absence of either objective or subjective grounds renders the arrest unlawful.
Continue reading “Grounds of Arrest”

Patrick Ducharme

Private citizens who witness a breach of the peace are justified in preventing its continuation or renewal and may arrest the person breaching the peace for the purposes of surrendering that person to a peace officer.1 The common law concept of “breach of the peace” is not statutorily defined. It is usually an act or actions that result in actual or threatened harm to another person. Consider sections 30 and 31 of the Code:
Continue reading “Preventing a Breach of the Peace”

Patrick Ducharme

Section 495 demonstrates that the powers of arrest for indictable offences and the powers of detention of an arrestee are appreciably greater than those same powers in relation to summary conviction offences.
495. (1) A peace officer may arrest without warrant
(a) a person who has committed an indictable offence or who, on reasonable grounds, he believes has committed or is about to commit an indictable offence,
Continue reading “Powers of Arrest/Detention Greater for Some Indictable Offences”

Patrick Ducharme

In Feeney, the Supreme Court of Canada reviewed the activities of the police during a murder investigation in 1991. The police had entered the accused’s house, and equipment trailer, without permission. When they received no answer at the door, they entered and awakened the accused. They ordered him to get up and they looked into the front of the trailer for better lighting. The police arrested him after seeing blood on a shirt. Following a caution with respect to the right to counsel but not the right to execute the right to counsel, the police asked the accused a couple of questions. They seized his shirt and he was taken to the police department. Further statements were taken from the accused without the accused having an opportunity to speak to counsel. The police seized cash, cigarettes and shoes under a warrant obtained on the basis of the initial search of the trailer.
Continue reading “The Birth of “Feeney” Warrants”

Patrick J Ducharme

In R. v. Godoy1 the Supreme Court of Canada considered the police powers to enter a residence forcibly to investigate an apparent emergency. In Godoy the police received a disconnected 911 call. Police were able to determine the location by the call. The police arrived at the apartment and knocked on the door. A male answered the door and told the police that there was “no problem” and invited them to leave. When the officers asked if they could enter the apartment to investigate, the male tried to close the door. The officers forced their way into the apartment. Once inside, they heard a woman crying.
Continue reading ““Apparent Emergency” Calls to 911”

Patrick Ducharme

Section 494 of the Code prescribes the powers all persons have, including police officers, to make an arrest of a person without an arrest warrant. Subsection (2) was recently amended to permit an arrest without a warrant if the person making the arrest either finds the person committing a criminal offense in relation to or on that property provided the arrest is made at a time when the person is found committing the offense, or, “within a reasonable time after the offense is committed, and, it is believed on reasonable grounds that it is not feasible in the circumstances for a peace officer to make the arrest.
Continue reading “Power of Arrest (Part 2)”

Patrick J Ducharme

In June 2012 a citizen’s power to arrest was expanded. The powers are contained in section 494 of the Code. The changes to section 494 may appear minor, but can have a significant impact in relation to private citizens arresting “within a reasonable time after the offence is committed.” The amendments relax the requirement that an arrest must be made immediately following the commission of the offence but retain the condition that the arrestee is, at the time of arrest, “found committing” a crime. The citizen’s power to arrest for past offences is limited to cases where the police would be unable to arrest the suspect. More specifically the section requires that it “not be feasible in the circumstances for a peace officer to make the arrest.”
Continue reading “Power of Arrest: Private Citizens 494”

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Spencer may be a harbinger for legislation that seeks to avoid judicial scrutiny of searches conducted by law enforcement officials. In this case the police suspected an individual was using the Internet to access child pornography. Without seeking a search warrant, and, purporting to act under the authority of PIPEDA, they obtained from the Internet Service Provider the IP address of the suspect. PIPEDA provisions do not require the authorities to obtain a search warrant.
Continue reading “Expectation of Privacy: R. v. Spencer SCC”

Patrick Ducharme

In Therens the Supreme Court of Canada defined the word “detention” as directed at a restraint of liberty, other than arrest, where a person may reasonably require the assistance of counsel. The word “arrest” is not defined in the Code. The power to arrest by “anyone” or by police officers is provided specifically in sections 494 and 495 respectively of the Code.
Continue reading “Arrest vs. Detention”