SECTION 10(B) - RIGHT TO COUNSEL CASES
Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 5:05PM A number of right to counsel cases have been released recently, and reading each of the cases is encouraged. A brief summary of each case reveals:
An officer asking "Do you wish to call a lawyer now?" and receiving the response "No, not right now" was not a Charter breach. Leave to appeal dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada, R. v. Owens, 2016 CANLII 12139. See R. v. Owens, 2015 ONCA 652, October 4, 2015 blog entry for a full review.
An officer reminding an impaired driving suspect who was having difficulty calling a private lawyer at 4:21 a.m. that he he had the option of calling a different lawyer, including Legal Aid, was not a Charter breach. R. v. Larson, 2015 SKCA 143
An officer asking suspect who he saw was off the detachment phone "if he was done?" and receiving the response "yes" was not a Charter breach. And, even if there was a Charter breach, the exclusion of the evidence was not justified on the record. Any breach was minor, and entirely in good faith. The impact on the suspect’s protected interests were minimal, and there was a strong public interest in prosecuting this violent crime. Note that the last case involved a suspect who was arrested for armed robbery. R. v. Beauregard, 2016 ABCA 37