BLOOD DEMAND AND SEARCH WARRANT FOR HOSPITAL BLOOD SAMPLES
Saturday, October 19, 2013 at 10:52AM A rights to counsel issue arose when officers were dealing with Mr. Taylor at the hospital. Samples of his blood were obtained pursuant to a blood demand. The next day an information to obtain a search warrant was prepared, a search warrant was issued by a Provincial Court Judge, and Mr. Taylor's hospital blood samples were seized and sent for analysis. He was convicted of three counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm. A majority of the Alberta Court of Appeal (Slatter J.A. dissenting) allowed Mr. Taylor's appeal, quashed the conviction, and entered an acquittal.
The issues associated with investigating a suspected impaired driver in a hospital setting are complex, as is evidenced by this (122 paragraph!) judgment in which the panel itself reached different conclusions. R. v. Taylor, 2013 ABCA 342