R. v. Felger

R. v. Felger

The application for a voir dire was dismissed because the Court of Appeal's finding that there was no s.8 breach forecloses a viable s.7 objection in the circumstances; the conceded trespass was trivial and not grossly disproportionate to law enforcement objectives, so no principle of fundamental justice was breached and there was no realistic prospect that evidence would be excluded.

Citation
2015 BCSC 2410
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Timothy Lee Felger; Co Accused: Natasha Kaye Healy
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
16 September 2015
Procedural Posture
Criminal Trial (retrial) / Application for Voir Dire (vukelich Hearing)
Outcome
Application for voir dire on admissibility of undercover officers' observational evidence dismissed; voir dire on scope of search warrant permitted to proceed.
Legal Topics
Charter S.7, Charter S.8, Search and Seizure, Trespass, Voir Dire, Exclusion of Evidence, Reasonable Expectation of Privacy
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Evidence Charter S.7 Charter S.8 Search and Seizure Trespass Voir Dire +2 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Timothy Lee Felger

Accused

Natasha Kaye Healy

Co Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal Trial (retrial) / Application for Voir Dire (vukelich Hearing)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether a voir dire is required on admissibility of undercover officers' observations after admitted trespass
  2. 2 Whether the trespass by undercover officers gives rise to a s.7 breach (principles of fundamental justice) separate from s.8
  3. 3 Whether s.8 analysis subsumes s.7 in this context such that s.7 need not be considered

Ratio Decidendi

The application for a voir dire was dismissed because the Court of Appeal's finding that there was no s.8 breach forecloses a viable s.7 objection in the circumstances; the conceded trespass was trivial and not grossly disproportionate to law enforcement objectives, so no principle of fundamental justice was breached and there was no realistic prospect that evidence would be excluded.

Court Disposition

Application for voir dire on admissibility of undercover officers' observational evidence dismissed; voir dire on scope of search warrant permitted to proceed.

Orders

  • Dismissal of accused's application for a Vukelich voir dire on undercover officers' observations
  • Voir dire to proceed on whether the subsequent search exceeded the terms of the search warrant