SECTION 10(B) - RIGHT TO COUNSEL WHEN THE SUSPECT WANTS TO CALL A FAMILY MEMBER

This was a case where Mr. O’Connor, who was 31 years old, wanted to call his parents to obtain the name of the family lawyer. The police officer, to assist Mr. O’Connor, made several calls to the numbers where the parents might have been reached but was not able to reach them. Mr. O'Connor did not want to call anyone else and eventually refused to provide a breath sample.  He was convicted at trial and that conviction was upheld by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal. A portion of the trial judgment (R. v. O'Connor, 2012 SKPC 174) stated:

 [Case law] requires that we consider whether the accused was diligent in exercising his right to counsel.  [S]uch diligence is demonstrated where an accused, when efforts to contact counsel of choice have failed, avails themselves of other options such as alternate counsel or Legal Aid.  This is especially so where circumstances such as the time of day or repeated failed phone calls dictate that counsel of choice is not expected to become available or accessible within a reasonable period of time. R. v. O'Connor, 2015 SKCA 9