R. v. Van Humbeck

R. v. Van Humbeck

The court held the first ITO, read in its entirety and excluding unsupported general propensity assertions, provided reasonable and probable grounds to authorize a forensic search of electronic storage media at the accused's residence; the first warrant, properly interpreted, expressly and unambiguously authorized a...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2019 BCSC 1590
Parties
Crown: Regina; Accused: Nicholas Van Humbeck
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
19 September 2019
Procedural Posture
Criminal (child Pornography; Search and Seizure) / Voir Dire (ruling on Warrants and S.8 Charter Challenge)
Outcome
Court declined to exclude electronic files and data seized under the first and second warrants except files and data seized under paragraph 1.b. of Appendix A of the first warrant, which were not validly authorized and if seized were improperly obtained.
Legal Topics
Charter S.8 Search and Seizure, Charter S.9 Arbitrary Detention, Charter S.24(2) Exclusion of Evidence, Warrants and Informations to Obtain (itos), Forensic Search of Electronic Storage Media, Child Pornography Offences, Reasonable and Probable Grounds
Source Language
english
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Search and Seizure Evidence Digital Privacy Charter S.8 Search and Seizure Charter S.9 Arbitrary Detention Charter S.24(2) Exclusion of Evidence +4 more

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Parties

Regina

Crown

Nicholas Van Humbeck

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal (child Pornography; Search and Seizure) / Voir Dire (ruling on Warrants and S.8 Charter Challenge)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the ITO supporting the first warrant established reasonable and probable grounds to authorize a forensic search of electronic storage media
  2. 2 Whether the first warrant expressly, clearly and unambiguously authorized a forensic search of electronic devices and storage media
  3. 3 Whether the second ITO and warrant were tainted by any defect in the first warrant and ITO

Ratio Decidendi

The court held the first ITO, read in its entirety and excluding unsupported general propensity assertions, provided reasonable and probable grounds to authorize a forensic search of electronic storage media at the accused's residence; the first warrant, properly interpreted, expressly and unambiguously authorized a search of electronic devices and storage media for child pornography and related files except that paragraph 1.b. of Appendix A is deficient and does not validly authorize a forensic search for files 'at the time the offence was committed' due to an unclear time reference and an incomplete/incorrect IP address; consequently the second warrant was not tainted by the first and...

Court Disposition

Court declined to exclude electronic files and data seized under the first and second warrants except files and data seized under paragraph 1.b. of Appendix A of the first warrant, which were not validly authorized and if seized were improperly obtained.

Orders

  • First warrant held valid and properly authorized a forensic search of electronic devices and storage media except paragraph 1.b. of Appendix A which was deficient and any items seized under it were not lawfully seized
  • Attack on the second ITO and warrant dismissed; evidence extracted under the second warrant not excluded on basis of first warrant deficiencies