R. v. Mollon

R. v. Mollon

Although the search warrant and arrest infringed the accused's Charter rights, the police acted with an honest belief and without bad faith; the breaches were serious but not wilful or flagrant; the seized electronic evidence was reliable and central to the Crown's case such that excluding it would effectively terminate the prosecution; balancing the Grant factors, admission of the evidence would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute, therefore the s.24(2) application is dismissed and the evidence is admissible.

Citation
2017 BCSC 1992
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Andre Harold Mollon
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
2 November 2017
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Ruling on S.24(2) Charter Application Following Voir Dire; Pre‑trial Evidence Exclusion Motion
Outcome
Application to exclude evidence under s.24(2) dismissed; evidence admitted despite Charter breaches; earlier search warrant set aside and arrest found arbitrary under s.9
Legal Topics
Charter S.24(2) Exclusion of Evidence, Unreasonable Search and Seizure S.8, Arbitrary Detention S.9, Search Warrants S.487.1, Searches of Electronic Devices, Privacy Interests in the Home and Computers
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Evidence Law Charter S.24(2) Exclusion of Evidence Unreasonable Search and Seizure S.8 Arbitrary Detention S.9 Search Warrants S.487.1 Searches of Electronic Devices +1 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Andre Harold Mollon

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Ruling on S.24(2) Charter Application Following Voir Dire; Pre‑trial Evidence Exclusion Motion

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the search warrant and resulting search met the reasonable and probable grounds threshold under s.487.1
  2. 2 Whether the arrest was arbitrary in breach of s.9 of the Charter
  3. 3 Whether the evidence obtained should be excluded under s.24(2) of the Charter despite Charter breaches

Ratio Decidendi

Although the search warrant and arrest infringed the accused's Charter rights, the police acted with an honest belief and without bad faith; the breaches were serious but not wilful or flagrant; the seized electronic evidence was reliable and central to the Crown's case such that excluding it would effectively terminate the prosecution; balancing the Grant factors, admission of the evidence would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute, therefore the s.24(2) application is dismissed and the evidence is admissible.

Court Disposition

Application to exclude evidence under s.24(2) dismissed; evidence admitted despite Charter breaches; earlier search warrant set aside and arrest found arbitrary under s.9

Orders

  • Search warrant set aside
  • Arrest of the accused found arbitrary and in violation of s.9 of the Charter