SECTIONS 9 AND 10(B) - DETAINING DUE TO NON-RESIDENCY LEADS TO STAYS
Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 2:34PM A number of drinking and driving charges have been stayed by Ontario courts recently, due to non-residents being held by police for show cause hearings after the impaired investigations were concluded:
In the case at bar . . . there is actual evidence of a systemic problem within the police force as it relates to understanding the longstanding laws relating to release. In reaching this conclusion, I note that firstly, this is not the first case where a non-citizen has been held for a show cause hearing because the police improperly understood s. 498 of the Criminal Code. R. v. Sabatini, 2015 ONCJ 282
See also R. v. Doyon, 2015 ONCJ 122 where a Quebec resident's charges were stayed and R. v. Provo, 2015 ONCJ 311 where a Michigan resident was acquitted due to a s. 10(b) Charter breach because he was not given another opportunity to consult counsel after the decision to hold him was made.