R. v. Liberatore

R. v. Liberatore

After excising the demonstrably erroneous statement about a .22 rifle and assessing the ITO in its totality the issuing justice could reasonably have found credible and reliable information (corroborated police observations, two informants' recent direct observations, applicant's criminal record, prior home invasions and affiant's experience) establishing a factual nexus to the places to be searched; therefore the warrant was properly issued and the evidence obtained is admissible.

Citation
2014 NSSC 55
Parties
Crown: Her Majesty the Queen; Accused: Michael Victor Liberatore
Court
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
5 February 2014
Procedural Posture
Criminal / Application to Quash/search Warrant Validity Review (pre Trial)
Outcome
Search warrant upheld; evidence obtained by the search admitted
Legal Topics
Search Warrants, Reasonable and Probable Grounds, Section 8 Charter (unreasonable Search), Section 24(2) Charter (exclusion of Evidence), Informant Reliability, Factual Nexus, Severance of Information to Obtain
Source Language
English
Criminal Law Constitutional Law Evidence Law Search Warrants Reasonable and Probable Grounds Section 8 Charter (unreasonable Search) Section 24(2) Charter (exclusion of Evidence) Informant Reliability +2 more

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Parties

Her Majesty the Queen

Crown

Michael Victor Liberatore

Accused

Procedural Posture

Criminal / Application to Quash/search Warrant Validity Review (pre Trial)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Information to Obtain (ITO) contained erroneous or misleading information that vitiated reasonable and probable grounds
  2. 2 Whether, after excising erroneous statements, the remaining information established a factual nexus between alleged offences and places to be searched
  3. 3 Whether informant-based assertions about firearms were reasonably capable of belief or required corroboration

Ratio Decidendi

After excising the demonstrably erroneous statement about a .22 rifle and assessing the ITO in its totality the issuing justice could reasonably have found credible and reliable information (corroborated police observations, two informants' recent direct observations, applicant's criminal record, prior home invasions and affiant's experience) establishing a factual nexus to the places to be searched; therefore the warrant was properly issued and the evidence obtained is admissible.

Court Disposition

Search warrant upheld; evidence obtained by the search admitted

Orders

  • Search warrant declared valid and properly issued
  • Evidence obtained as a result of the search is admissible