Legal Issues In Policing

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In this episode, Mike discusses the BC Provincial Court decision R. v. Roberts, 2023 BCPC 118 in which a police officer stopped a person for speeding. Was this stop arbitrary because the police also wanted to identify the driver to advance a suspected drug trafficking investigation? Was instructing the driver to exit the vehicle an unreasonable  search?  What about ordering the driver to remove his hand from his pocket? Listen now to answer these and other questions posed by this police encounter. 

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal decision R. v. Simmons, 2023 PECA 4 where the police arrested two men, conducted an incidental search, and seized methamphetamine, cocaine and cannabis. Seeking the exclusion of evidence, the defence challenged the lead investigator's grounds for arrest. Did the the facts rise to the level required for a lawful arrest and find out why Mike used the Σ (sigma) symbol in the title's formula?

Mike's Mental Math

• W = the whole (totality of the circumstances)
• > = greater than
• Σ = the sum of
• F = fact
• n = set of numbers

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court decision R. v. Pike, 2023 NLPC 1322A00622 where the Crown’s impaired driving case didn’t go so well. Find out why and ask yourself whether you would have done anything different to prop up the prosecution. 

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In this episode, Mike discusses the BC Court of Appeal decision R. v. Fong, 2023 BCCA 196 where a police officer authorized the arrest of a man believed to be a dial-a-doper. Did the facts as found by the trial judge meet the legal threshold of reasonable grounds? Was the officer's SUBJECTIVE belief OBJECTIVELY reasonable? Listen and judge for yourself. 

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Statistics Canada report “Confidence in the police, the justice system and courts, the Federal Parliament, and the Canadian media varied across racialized groups” (March 31, 2023). Just how did the police stack up against the other institutions?  

Yale Law School's four pillars of procedural justice.

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Supreme Court of Canada decision R. v. McGregor, 2023 SCC 4 where investigators searched a computer with a warrant for one purpose and discovered evidence related to entirely different crimes. Did the common law plain view doctrine apply in the digital world? Mike takes a deep dive into the requirements of this warrantless seizure power, and also briefly discusses the military justice system and data searches generally. You might also want to check out s. 489 of the Criminal Code.

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In this episode, Mike discusses the BC Court of Appeal decision R. v. Dhillon, 2023 BCCA 38 where a police officer stopped a man for traffic reasons but safety concerns led to a pat-down, an investigative detention for drug trafficking and the discovery of a loaded handgun in a man-purse. The man argued an "imminent threat" to an officer (or to the public) was necessary for a safety search to be lawful and that such a threat did not exist in this case. What did the BC Court of Appeal say about this?  Listen and learn. Your life may depend on it!

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In this episode, Mike discusses the BC Court of Appeal decision R. v. Lundy, 2023 BCCA 133 where a police officer arrested a man he believed was trafficking in drugs based on a tip and surveillance observations, all filtered through his experience. But the trial judge didn’t think the officer had enough grounds for an arrest, thereby arbitrarily detaining the man, and unreasonably searching him as an incident to the unlawful arrest. Would you make the arrest in similar circumstances? Listen and find out what BC’s Court of Appeal had to say when it weighed into the matter.

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In this episode, Mike celebrates a birthday! It was 41 years ago today -- on April 17, 1982 -- when the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms came into force. But the provisions of the Charter went through a series of drafts to become the text as you know it today.  Listen to learn how the right to counsel as it found expression in s. 10(b) came to be. 

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In this episode, Mike discusses the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal decision R. v. Macfie, 2023 SKCA 39 where a police officer came upon a man slumped over the steering wheel of a truck that was oddly positioned in the parking lot of a grocery store in the early morning hour. The keys were in the ignition and the truck was running.  Very slurred speech, intensely blood shot eyes, a strong breath odour of liquor and droopy face muscles were observed. The man also has an unlit cigarette in his fingers and there was a bottle of beer nearby inside the truck. Would you have reasonable grounds to believe the man was in care and control of the truck while slightly impaired? What does your "common sense" tell you? You might be surprised how others might "see" this picture. 

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