SECTION 10(B) - RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN A HOSPITAL SETTING

Hospitals are busy places, and many operate at full capacity. There may be logistical impediments: many rooms are unsuitable because they contain potentially dangerous objects (syringes, scalpels, etc.) or confidential files. For the same reason that a police officer does not have to allow use of his or her personal cell phone, medical staff cannot be expected to share their offices with detained persons. That said, police have a duty to take reasonable steps to determine whether there is a place where the necessary privacy is available, while still allowing the police to control the detained person.  In this trial, the Judge accepted the officer’s testimony that although he made no efforts to find a place that would afford Mr. McConnell privacy, and therefore he did not give Mr. McConnell the opportunity to contact counsel while at the hospital, he knew from frequent visits to the emergency room of that hospital that there was no suitable telephone in that area and taking him outside the emergency room was impossible because he “was hooked up to medical equipment, and ... under constant monitoring”. The officer did not question Mr. McConnell while at the hospital and provided him an opportunity to contact a lawyer immediately upon return to the police station. R v McConnell, 2018 ABCA 51