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| Patrick Ducharme |
Section 9 of the Charter provides that everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. This provision has been interpreted, however, as permitting the random stopping of a motorist for the purpose of spot check procedures and the enforcement of highway traffic legislation. Our courts have found that random stops of motorists amount to technical breaches of section 9, however, these infringements of section 8 by the police are saved by section 1 of the Charter as reasonable limits, demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society, as reasonable protections from the ravages of drunk or otherwise impaired drivers.
The above is the an excerpt of Patrick J Ducharme’s book, Canadian Criminal Procedure, available at Amazon or in bulk through MedicaLegal Publishing along with Criminal Trial Strategies.
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